


Lapidot Week 2020

by DinoKieran



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Crossover, Cute, Dorks, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Gardener Lapis, Gem Lapis, Gem/Human Relationships (Steven Universe), Human Peridot (Steven Universe), Lapidot Week 2020, Lapis is a useless Lesbian, Light Angst, Not Canon Compliant - The Legend of Korra, Student Peridot, lapidot - Freeform, writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26792488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinoKieran/pseuds/DinoKieran
Summary: Join me as I attempt to write a fic a day in tribute to my favourite Ship!Day 1: CrossoverDay 2: GardeningDay 3: ComfortDay 4: Free DayDay 5: MarriedDay 6: The BarnDay 7: Human AU
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 76





	1. Crossover

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've decided to give Lapidot Week 2020 a try. I've never done this sort of thing before, so it'll definitely prove to be a challenge, that's for sure! I'd just like to preface this by saying I'm aiming to write one of these a day, on the day, in singular solid writing sessions, which is something far out of my comfort zone... Usually, I would prefer to spend a few days working on each chapter, so these might not meet my normal standards ^^; So please bear with me! This writing challenge was one of spontaneity.  
> I hope you enjoy these one-shots!

Peridot grasped her radio firmly in one hand as she hurried down yet another poorly lit road. It was bizarre, she mused, that Republic City prided itself in being the most technologically advanced settlement, and yet they still hadn’t developed a more efficient way of providing exterior lighting? Surely having all these dark spots was just creating pockets for criminals to hide in? She had half a mind to bring it up with her superior, but she knew she’d be brushed aside like always.

She grumbled. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on her own personal hang-ups. She had a job to do.

There had been a report of a disturbance in the district, possible robbery, an individual was seen fleeing the scene and suspected to be a bender. When she got the call, she couldn’t help but get a strong sense of deja vu; these sorts of things always seemed to happen on her shifts. Why couldn’t she get the more dramatic, more serious crimes? She would not gain the reputation required to climb up the ranks just by nabbing some kid who thought it’d be fun to steal a bag of groceries. She mentally slapped herself, cursing her lack of focus yet again. Maybe that was why she was being sent out on these cases.  
“Become a police officer, they said,” She growled under her breath, “It’ll be _easy,_ they said.” She rounded a corner and scanned both sides of the road. She’d been pointed in the direction the suspect had fled in by a helpful passerby and had glimpsed someone running this way, but she wasn’t the fastest herself and it appeared she had lost them. She sighed, cursing to herself.  
“Something the matter, officer?”

She tensed in surprise at the sudden sound, but groaned in irritation as she recognized the voice. Slowly turning, she narrowed her eyes at the figure seated casually atop a nearby wall.

“Lazuli...” She growled, folding her arms and glowering. The figure snorted and hopped down, stepping into the light as they ran a hand through their choppy dark hair. She grinned and quirked a brow, her dark blue clothing shifting as she folded her arms and tilted her head.

“Aw, you remember me! How sweet” the taller woman said teasingly, blue eyes twinkling with mischief “and here I was thinking you hated me.”  
“Remembering a name does not equate to caring, Lazuli.” Peridot spat back, her lip curling in distaste, “I merely make a point of remembering those who pose an irritation.”

“Always the professional with your language,” Lapis replied as she sauntered closer, Peridot taking a step back, “you don’t have to be so formal with me, Peri.”

“ _Don’t call me that_.” Peridot growled, “it’s Officer Peridot to you, Lazuli.” Lapis only shrugged and rolled her eyes.

“Alright, suit yourself ‘ _Officer’._ You didn’t answer my question though, what’s going on?”  
Peridot eyed her suspiciously.

“Why on earth would I tell _you?_ Police matters have nothing to do with citizens, especially ones with your background.”

Lapis gasped and dramatically placed a hand to her chest.

“You wound me, Peri!” She teased, “I’m merely a concerned citizen wanting to help out the local law enforcement, that’s all!”

“A likely story” Peridot grumbled, not believing the taller woman’s charade for one moment, “any time you make an appearance something goes awry, in fact-” she narrowed her eyes once more “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were behind this all along.”

“Well, how am I supposed to know whether I have something to do with it if you don’t tell me what it is?” The tanned woman tilted her head, grinning, “I will not take the blame for something I didn’t do.”

Peridot had half a mind to mention that she rarely took the blame for things she did do, but decided against it. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Fine,” she muttered, “someone stole a bag of vegetables out of someone’s hand as they were heading home.”

“Vegetables huh?” Lapis tapped her lip thoughtfully, “you mean.. Like these?” She pulled her other hand from behind her back, a brown paper bag dangling from her fingers. Peridot’s eyes went wide, and she stood up straight, clenching her fists.

“So it _was_ you!” She declared angrily, to which Lapis chuckled and held up her free hand, wagging a finger.

."Hey come on now, I said nothing about stealing it," She replied "I just so happened to be walking down a nearby road and spotted it dumped in the middle of the alleyway. I picked it up out of curiosity and, well, here we are."

There was silence as Peridot glowered at her. She wanted to point out just how suspiciously convenient this whole thing was, but reluctantly... Lapis had the upper hand. She had no proof that the waterbender had been the one to steal the food, the description of the suspect had been far too vague, so all she really had was the fact that she was currently in ownership of said food. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"...Fine. However-" She raised a hand as Lapis eyed her quizzically, "you will have to come back to the station for questioning, considering you’ve come in contact with the stolen items.”

“Hmm...” Lapis stroked her chin, “Nah, don’t think I will.”

“... Excuse me?”

“Sorry, I don’t have the time” Lapis shrugged “got some errands to run, schedules to keep… You can appreciate that, right officer?”

“That’s-” Peridot stuttered “it doesn’t matter if you have other engagements, law enforcement can’t be structured around your routine!” She was about to continue when the bag was thrown at her. She stumbled backwards, trying not to lose her balance as a loose vegetable collided with her forehead. A loud whoosh of water and subsequent swift gust of wind came as she regained her balance, the spot in front of her now empty of the offender.

“ _Lazuli!!_ ” She yelled in exasperation, a faint cackle of glee echoing off in the distance in response.

Her adversary now long gone, Peridot was left alone once more. She wanted to go after her, but what was the point? She had no idea which way Lapis had gone. Sure, there was the option of giving her description to other officers to keep a lookout, but she had the stolen items with her now, and what officer would take up their time looking for a suspect for such a minor crime that had, for all intents and purposes, been resolved? Frustrated, she turned on her heel and stomped off back to her car, cursing under her breath.

Lapis Lazuli had been a thorn in her side for months now; the waterbender had a knack for mischief and appeared to take great joy in annoying her. Any time Peridot was sent out for some minor disturbance, she could practically guarantee that Lapis would be there, with her smug grin and playful taunts. She was infuriating, perplexing, and Peridot wanted nothing more than to put her behind bars to teach her a lesson.

The thing was, when she was given the opportunity, she just… couldn’t. She couldn’t arrest her. Her lack of resolve when confronting the troublemaker frustrated her to no end; it was something she kept from her fellow officers for fear that they would call her unprofessional.

She just couldn’t help it though. No matter how often the two crossed paths, she never found it in her to cuff her and drag her back to the station; just the idea of causing the tanned woman any pain made her guts twist. Lapis was frustrating, Lapis was annoying. Lapis was obnoxious and didn’t deserve the attention of a dedicated Republic City Officer.

But... Peridot couldn’t stop thinking about her.

She hated the feeling, the confusion in her mind. She was supposed to be carving out a reputation as an efficient officer of the law, someone to be respected, but any time Lapis was involved she became a bumbling idiot, so quick to anger. As she clambered into her police vehicle and prepared to return to the station, she could only hope that her confusion and frustration would clear soon.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was quickly proven wrong. Of course.

The month that followed was the most chaotic yet; barely a day would pass before she was called out for yet another mishap. Everything, from cases of vandalism to car theft to breaking and entering, and Lapis was always there. The minute they’d lock eyes, Peridot would make a beeline for her. Fellow officers on the scene would target other perpetrators, but she would always claim Lapis for her own.

Was it selfish? Yes. Unprofessional? Absolutely; but she was past caring at this point. The troublemaking waterbender needed to answer for the chaos and confusion she was causing, and Peridot wouldn’t stop until that goal was met. Her frustration multiplied tenfold as it became clear her current tactics were failing her repeatedly. When she returned, exhausted from the previous day’s failed encounter, she slumped in her chair and stared at the stacks of papers in front of her. Lapis was clever, yes, but there had to be a pattern here. The waterbender seemed to know Peridot’s moves before she made them… had she allowed herself to become repetitive? Yes. That must be it! She needed to change things up a bit, alter her maneuvers. Revived with a new sense of enthusiasm, Peridot rummaged about her office until she found an empty notebook. She grinned as she sat back at her desk, grabbing the battered green notebook strapped to her belt and laying it on the desk. She hadn’t told a soul that she’d been keeping a detailed account of every single one of her encounters with Lapis as she knew in the back of her mind it was definitely overkill, but right now it was going to prove very useful. 

No more running in headfirst. It was time for tactics and planning. Lapis would not beat her this time.

She spent as much time as possible in her office, pouring over her notes. The next few days were mercifully quiet, and if another officer were to pop their head into her office to make an enquiry, she would grab a random piece of paperwork and pretend to be looking over that instead. Yes, researching criminals was an acceptable use of her time, but she knew that such a level of focus on who was essentially a minor nuisance would most likely be viewed with confusion. So she had to lie, for now at least. If all went well, she’d be able to succeed in her mission and finally have the skills and mental strength to capture the elusive Lapis Lazuli.

Finally, when a new call came in, Peridot was ready; she knew what she had to do. No more head on assaults. She had to be stealthy. She grinned to herself as she hopped into her vehicle and followed the car in front.

The report was a disturbance, at least two benders having an altercation and potentially causing property damage. It wasn’t hard for Peridot to presume her quarry was one of them, especially since she had received confirmation that one of them was a waterbender; her suspicions were confirmed when she pulled up to the scene and spotted a familiar figure balanced on the edge of a partially damaged fountain. The minute the officers began exciting their cars, the suspects took off, but Peridot paid the others no mind; she knew whoever else was involved would be caught easily by her fellow officers.

She was locked on Lapis, and Lapis only.

Instead of bolting out and straight towards her, Peridot slipped out of the passenger door and darted behind a nearby wall, keeping herself out of sight. When she peaked over, she scanned the scene and once again spotted her quarry. What confused her was that, unlike the others, Lapis hadn’t left the scene; she was tucked between two buildings, high on a balcony, showing no sign of going anywhere. No smart criminal would remain at the scene of a crime, especially if the police were already there; what was she doing? It appeared she was looking for something. No matter. A distracted Lapis would make it even more easy for Peridot to sneak up on her. 

The officer bit back a chuckle as she slowly made her way down a neighboring street. It was a busy one, so she didn’t have to worry about making noise as it would be drowned out by the surrounding crowds. Thanks to that, it didn’t take long before she spotted the tanned woman once again. Thankfully, she had her back to her, still peeking out from between the buildings; Peridot glimpsed her face, which bore a confused expression, but quickly moved just to be sure the waterbender wouldn’t spot her. Slowly pulling from the spool of metal wire on her back, she stepped into the small alley below her quarry. So far everything was falling into place.

With her sights set, Peridot flexed her fingers before thrusting her arm forward, sending the wire shooting up directly towards Lapis. It swiftly wrapped around her, causing her to yelp in surprise, before pulling her down to Peridot’s level. The tanned woman hit the ground with a thump, the fall not far enough to cough any permanent damage, but enough to cause her to be badly winded. Peridot shifted her arm again, the wire now holding Lapis flush against the wall. She grinned smugly as she stepped into the other woman’s line of sight, watching gleefully as the criminal recognized her. 

“P-Peridot?” Lapis panted out, her eyes wide as she stared in shock at the officer in front of her. Peridot let out a nasal laugh and stepped closer.

“What? Surprised were you? Now that makes a change,” She stood directly in front of her “how does it feel to have the roles reversed? Not so great now, huh?”

“I- You-” Lapis looked about her, struggling against her bonds to no avail “how did you-”

“You’re not exactly in a position to be asking questions, Lazuli,” Peridot replied, “You’re going to talk, of course, but only in response to questions. You have a _lot_ to answer for!” She looked Lapis in the eye, ready to give her the long speech she had been preparing… Only to have the words die on her lips.

The look on Lapis’ face was one of defeat, yes, but also one of sorrow. Her brows furrowed above her blue eyes as she watched her captor. Peridot gulped. This was what she was afraid of; she’d gotten close to catching her only a couple of times before, but when she had, she’d found it difficult to carry out that last step. She couldn’t fail again, not this time.

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to repair her resolve, she locked eyes with Lapis once again.

“Lazuli-”

“Peridot. Please.” Lapis whimpered, shifting slightly as she watched the officer with a pleading gaze, “please let me go. I never meant to do any harm.”

“...You’ve caused a significant amount of property damage” Peridot replied, her voice wavering. Lapis sighed.

“I know, but I didn’t mean to! I only wanted to get that Earthbender guy a little angry, just throw a few rocks at me or something, I never expected to be dodging enormous boulders!”

Peridot stared at her in silence, chewing on her lower lip. Okay, she had planned to save the questioning for when they were back at the station, but this had confused her.

“That still makes little sense,” she replied, “what sort of excuse is that? Regardless of the outcome, you started a fight in public with another bender. That’s never safe, even in safe environments! Why did you even feel the need to do it in the first place?” She felt anger building, anger from all the times she’d been thwarted by the woman in front of her “everything you do is nonsensical, puts others at risk, and for what? Do you enjoy breaking the law? Putting others in danger? Being chased by the Police? Why are you doing this Lazuli??”

“Because I wanted to see you!”

Silence.

Peridot blinked, staring in shock at the waterbender in front of her who was now flushing a deep shade of red. That… wasn’t what she’d been expecting.

“E-excuse me?” She stuttered, her own cheeks tinting pink. Lapis squirmed; she clearly hadn’t meant to confess such a thing.

“I- Crap.” she cleared her throat, shifting her still bound arms awkwardly. “I wanted to see you, Peridot.” She murmured, glancing up at the officer who hesitantly gestured for her to continue. “The first time we met; I’d done something stupid, hopped the fence of some rich guy’s house, and you came in there all fired up and ready to make arrests. I thought you were funny, a short, blonde little Earthbender so determined to get the job done. You were fun to mess with, easy to anger and fluster and… well..” she gulped, “kinda cute.”

Peridot would have usually taken offense to the word almost automatically, but she was so caught up in the story she barely paid it any mind.

“A-anyway,” Lapis continued, “we bumped heads a couple more times, and I started to look forward to seeing you. I had to avoid the other officers, but that became part of the fun; I could tease you so easily you’d split off from the group and I could have you.. Aha… all to myself.” She coughed, “... That sounds dirty now that I say it out loud. But- ugh. Screw it, I’ve told you this much, might as well tell the rest.” Sighing through her nose she chewed her lip, “I didn’t enjoy getting the police involved before, I preferred to do small things, things that wouldn’t get me noticed, but then you came along and, well, things kinda changed from there. I started… Deliberately being obvious with my crimes, wanting someone to call the police. Nothing big enough to warrant loads of officers showing up, maybe one or two, and eventually you started arriving. When it got to the point where you knew my name...” She let out a soft, wistful sigh that made Peridot’s stomach flip “It was like a rush. I started doing things just so I could get the police called on me, get _you_ called on me. Getting you frustrated, seeing you fumble when I caught you off guard, I found myself having the most fun I’d had in a long time.” She trailed off, looking up at Peridot shyly. “So… yeah… That’s why.” She chuckled softly.

Peridot truly couldn’t process what was being said to her. This woman, this… criminal, was confessing her feelings to her? This made little sense at all. Not to mention it was all kinds of wrong, so inappropriate.

So why was her heart pounding as if she’d just run a marathon? Why were her cheeks heating up? Her mind was on the fritz.

Eventually, her thoughts cleared enough for her to regain her focus. She shook her head to clear it and swallowed.

“So… you’re telling me… that all this time, all these crimes you were committing, it was all to see me?” She scrunched up her nose when Lapis nodded, her thoughts slowly falling into place. “Okay. Well. Call me cynical or whatever, but I don’t believe you.” She chuckled dryly, “you’ve tricked me many times, Lazuli, but not this time. I’m willing to bet this is just another ruse to get out of your current situation, but guess what? This time I’m not falling for it.” She smiled triumphantly, ignoring the fluttering of her heart as Lapis’ blue eyes settled on her own green ones once again.

“Peri...” Lapis sighed, shoulders slumping “please- look, I know what it looks like, but you’ve got to believe me.” She paused, cheeks once again flushing a dark red “let me prove it. Let me prove to you I’m not lying.” Peridot stared at her, eyes narrowing. This should be entertaining.

“Oh? And how do you suppose you’ll do tha- hurk!” She yelped as she was jerked forward, a tendril of water wrapped firmly around her waist. She squirmed briefly, trying to free herself-

Then Lapis’ lips were on hers.

Her entire body froze as her mind tried desperately to adjust to the situation. Lapis was kissing her. Lapis Lazuli, the criminal that had been tormenting her for months, had confessed her feelings and was now kissing her. This was wrong, so incredibly wrong… but Lapis’ lips felt so soft. The taller woman let out a low hum that reverberated into Peridot’s mouth, causing the officer to shiver reflexively; why did this feel so good? So… _right?_

She’d been pursuing this woman relentlessly, going above and beyond; was it really all because she wanted her behind bars? Or was it… something else? She didn’t know, heck she didn’t even want to be thinking right now. Only feeling.

Lapis’ hand gently grazed her cheek, startling her; she must have slackened the wires while being so distracted. She tensed briefly before finding herself leaning into the touch, sighing through her nose as the tanned fingers gently caressed her skin. She was dazed, heart still thudding in her chest, when Lapis finally pulled back. The pair stared at each other, panting softly, before Peridot finally tried to speak.

“Lapis, I-” Then, the Waterbender’s mouth spread into a broad, playful grin. Before Peridot could even register what was happening, she had wriggled free of the wires and shot off skywards with a pillar of water. The officer stared for a moment in shock before feeling herself wobbling. She tried to move forward, only to find that her feet had been frozen to the ground in a thick layer of ice. 

“Later, Peri~!” Lapis called out from above, blowing her a kiss before launching herself off in the opposite direction. Peridot’s fists clenched in frustration as she watched her quarry vanish from sight; that damn Waterbender, she was going to pay for this!

“ **_Lazuliii!!_ **”


	2. Day 2: Gardening Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis, a new gardener at the Empire City Gardens, finds herself crossing paths with a curious student.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is.. just a little late. I apologize! Honestly, the story got away from me and has ended up far longer than anticipated and would take much more time to finish than I had. To rectify that, I've decided to split it into two parts, one today, and the other on Day 4. Hope you all understand!
> 
> Day 3 will be posted later today. Enjoy!

Lapis hummed quietly to herself as she strode across the perfectly manicured lawn, tool bag in one hand as she shoved a bundle of keys in her pocket with the other. It had been two weeks already and she still couldn’t get over the fact that she’d been chosen to work here.  _ Her, in the Empire City University Gardens!  _ This place had an impressive reputation, which was definitely backed up by the tremendous variety of rare and beautiful plants. Granted, she had been told that she wouldn't be working directly with the rarest parts of the collection, but that was understandable. She was on a one year placement, while many of the gardeners here had spent years working and studying those plants. 

She wouldn't want to ruin all their hard work. 

For now, her primary task was to keep the main borders clean and tidy. With Spring well underway, weeds popping up in unwanted spots was commonplace; keeping on top of them was a daily task. Many early flowering plants require dead-heading to stimulate future growth and keep their pristine appearance.

She could have waited until her manager showed up, and she really should have, but she knew the drill by now and the other staff knew as much, mostly leaving her alone while she worked. She'd had someone shadowing her the first week, but her strive for independence drove her to work as efficiently as possible to keep from having to deal with anyone looking over her shoulder. That was the only downside to being in a place like this: too much snobbery.

She'd received a couple of looks from staff when she'd first started, but she was quick to prove that a young woman with blue hair and multiple tattoos could work just as efficiently as the rest of them, if not more so. It helped that the manager had her back, holding a steadfast opinion that appearance had no bearing on ability. If it wasn't for him, she was sure she'd not have gotten the placement.

As she placed down her kneeling pad at the edge of the border and got to work, she took a moment to truly appreciate the peaceful atmosphere; you really couldn’t tell you were on the outskirts of a busy city. The tall trees and thick shrubbery deadened the noise while simultaneously obscuring the busy roads along the outskirts; there was the occasional hint of the taller skyscrapers, but you really had to stare to find them.

Lapis loved that about this place. No chaos, no hustle and bustle, just her and the plants.

She remained in peaceful solitude for over an hour before the radio on her belt crackled to life.

_ “Hey Lapis, you out on the western borders? Over.” _

She started at the sudden voice of her manager but quickly grabbed the device, bringing it to her mouth.

“Hi Greg, yeah I’m just tidying it up, the dandelions have really come up in force here for some reason. Over”

_ “Aw jeez, they really don’t know when to quit, huh? Alright, well, when you’re done with that, can you pop down to the Front Lawn? The tree surgeon we hired got a little overzealous with his pruning and a branch dropped straight onto the hydrangeas yesterday. It was a small one but the plants don’t look too great, you’ll need to do a bit of pruning. Over.” _

Lapis sighed a little. She’d seen the tree surgeon at work yesterday and had expressed concern about his methods. She hadn’t been the only one, but he had come highly recommended, apparently, so they left him to continue. It appeared her suspicions had been correct.

“Alright, will do. Over,” Greg thanked her, and she signed off, sliding the radio back onto her belt and grabbing her shovel. This was going to be a long day.

The weeding took longer than she would have wanted, so by the time she made her way to the Front Lawn it was getting close to midday. Therefore, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to her that she found she would not be alone in this section of the garden. Seated on a large, bright green blanket was a woman with short, messy blonde hair. From the plethora of books laid out around her, it wasn’t hard for Lapis to recognise that she was a student; they had access to the garden for most of the day, while members of the public were restricted to weekends. While she knew some students liked to use the garden to study, she didn’t enjoy the company; most of them looked down their noses at her, made passing comments or just straight up ignored her presence. She was just lowly staff to them. Uppity assholes.

Therefore, she truly hoped that the other woman would be too focused on her studies to notice her; she didn’t like being watched while she worked, anyway.

Approaching the hydrangeas, she couldn’t help but wince; several plants were sporting bent or snapped stems or had had their flowers crushed. They’d only started blooming a week ago, too. Sighing in resignation, she put down her bag and rummaged for the secateurs; she’d have to trim the broken sections back and try to prop up those that had folded over. Providing they hadn’t sustained any permanent damage.

Much to her dismay, the pile of removed, damaged plant material began to overflow the trug she’d brought with her; the plant was still intact for the most part, but she’d have to shape it to account for the loss of volume. She ran her eyes over the plants, chewing on her lip as she debated how best to do this without impacting the plants during such a delicate time of year.

“What happened here?”

She almost wobbled forward in surprise at the unexpected sound of a high, nasally voice from beside her. She whipped her head around to see the blonde student from before standing at the edge of the border, her head tilted and a confused expression on her face. She stared back at her for a moment, her mindset thrown off by the intrusion.

“Uh… sorry?” Was all she said in response. The blonde raised an eyebrow.

“I said, what happened here? Looks like you’ve had to remove a lot of the plants, and they don’t look dead or diseased.” 

Ah. Lapis sighed. She was going to get a lecture on her standards of plant care by someone who didn’t know a thing but thought their intellect surpassed hers because of their qualifications. Wonderful. Another reason she couldn’t stand being in the presence of the students of Empire City University.

“They were damaged,” she replied as she turned and snipped another stem, “they trimmed the trees here yesterday and a branch fell on the border.”

“I see...” the student replied, “that’s unfortunate, they’re such lovely plants. I’ve quite enjoyed watching them bloom while I’m out here.”

The polite response surprised Lapis, she’d been expecting a snobby retort about how she should take better care of them next time. She even detected a hint of sadness in the stranger’s tone. That made her relax a little.

“It definitely sucks, yeah. But these things happen,” she pushed a branch to the side and trimmed some leaves. “It’s a good thing these are established shrubs, younger plants might not have survived this much damage.”

“Yes, they’ve definitely been here a long time. They were in these borders when I began my studies here, and they were already a decent size, too...” She trailed off. Lapis glanced over to see the blonde was staring at the plants intently, seeming to be deep in thought. “If you don’t mind, may I ask you another question?”

Lapis, finding herself starting to warm up to the stranger, shrugged her shoulders and gave a smile.

“Sure, why not? What do you want to know?” She had been doing this for a while, so taking a quick break from such a repetitive task might be good for her.

“Ah, thank you, much appreciated!” Came a more cheerful response; “this has perplexed me for a while. There’s a plant almost identical to this one in the borders outside my dorm building, but its flowers are a pale pink while these are blue. I thought they might be different species, but they look almost the same aside from the flower colours. Do you have any idea…?”

Lapis chuckled softly; now this was something she could answer. It wasn’t something she’d expected to be explaining to someone at this establishment, but regardless, she was happy to inform.

“Without seeing it for myself, I can’t know for sure, but if it’s identical to this one, then I’d say they’re the same species; the flowers change colour depending on the pH level in the soil. If it’s alkaline, they’ll be pink, if it’s acidic, then they’ll be blue. You can also get purple flowers if you get the balance just right, but that takes a lot of trial and error.” She watched in amusement as the student’s eyes widened in surprise, who then adjusted her glasses and eyed the plant again.

“Fascinating! So there are patches of soil that are more acidic and those that are more alkaline? That makes so much sense!”

“You can alter the pH balance just below the plant too, if you want a specific colour.” Lapis continued, feeling proud to be the one educating for a change “some folks bury rusted nails at the base to make the soil more acidic, some use dead leaves. There’s a lot of options if you know where to look.”

“That is definitely intriguing... thank you!” The blonde gave Lapis a smile, then her eyes widened and clasped her hands together, “Ah! But I’ve been distracting you from your work, my apologies. You probably don’t need folks like myself coming over and bombarding you with questions.” She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

“Nah, don’t apologise,” Lapis replied as she watched the other woman with amusement, “it’s refreshing to have someone take a genuine interest in my work, usually it’s… quite the opposite.”

“Well, good! I’m glad I wasn’t a bother to you; and it’s a shame you don’t get this more often! Gardening is fascinating. To me, anyway.” She chuckled, “I suppose I should get back to my studies sadly… but where are my manners? I’m Peridot, it’s lovely to meet you.” She swiftly stuck out a hand, smiling broadly.

Lapis stared for a moment in surprise, then quickly got up and pulled off her gloves.

“I’m Lapis, likewise.” She replied, internally wincing as she noticed the dirt under her nails that had somehow gotten there despite wearing thick gardening gloves. They shook hands, Lapis finding herself surprised that Peridot’s hands were just as calloused as hers, if not more so; she guessed this student was more practical than she’d initially thought.

“Great to meet you, Lapis. Say, have you been here a while?” Peridot asked as she relinquished her grasp, “you don’t seem familiar to me, and I’ve been studying here for years now.” Lapis shook her head.

“Nah, I’m a recent starter, been here for a couple of weeks at most.”

“I  _ thought _ so!” Peridot exclaimed triumphantly, “I mean, I know my memory isn’t the best when it comes to people, but I’m certain I would have remembered someone like you.”

Lapis raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh! Nothing bad, my apologies!” Peridot replied, grinning awkwardly, “I meant as in, most of the staff here are male and, well, you’re also quite er… vibrant.” She gestured to Lapis’ hair. The gardener couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Fair point, I suppose there’s few female blue-haired gardeners working on university land,” she ruffled her blue locks and gave Peridot a smile. Comments of disdain or discomfort usually followed folks pointing out her bold choice of hair colour, but Peridot seemed to be unbothered, or even intrigued by such an unusual choice.

Peridot smiled shyly.

“I suppose not,” she replied “-but anyways, I should leave you be, I did practically ambush you while you’re in the middle of work.” She sighed, “... and I suppose I should get back to my studies too.” A slight grimace spread across her face before being replaced by a smile. “Again, thank you for answering my questions, it was lovely to meet you.”

“No worries, and same to you.” Lapis replied, her tone now warmer “and good luck with your studying!” She called out as the blonde turned on her heel and headed back to her blanket. She got a wave and a smile in response and couldn’t help but laugh softly at the way the shorter girl almost bounced back to her books. That had been an… interesting encounter, to say the least; the last thing she’d been expecting was to have her work interrupted by a cheerful, inquisitive student. It hadn’t been an unwelcome encounter though, far from it. She loved to garden and was always happy to share her knowledge with anyone who asked. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the student was endearing. She blushed a little at the thought, but didn’t dwell on it too much before returning to work; so what if Peridot was a little on the cute side? Nothing wrong with having someone around who was happy to talk to her; would definitely make the more laborious tasks a little more enjoyable.

It turned out Peridot spent a lot of time in the gardens. She was still there when Lapis finished up her work an hour later, giving her a cheerful wave when she spotted her leaving, and when Lapis gave a cursory glance at the area while she passed by on her way back from her lunch break. It made sense, she supposed; the garden was a peaceful place that could be perfect for studying. She was sure it’d only be a distraction for herself, though. Too many flowers to observe and identify.

It wasn’t until she was tidying away her tools to prepare for the last few tasks of the day that she heard her name and glanced up to see the blonde all packed up and heading to the main gate. She gave a small wave in response to Peridot’s enthusiastic one and watched her for a moment before she disappeared from sight. The fact that Peridot had not only remembered her name but also made a point of saying goodbye made her chest squeeze a little. Iit was charming, to say the least.

From that point on, it became clear that Peridot had taken a liking to her. She’d always manage to find her during her study breaks and strike up conversation; her questions were mainly regarding whatever plant Lapis happened to be working on, they were sometimes about Lapis herself; where she came from, how long she'd been a gardener, etc. It surprised Lapis at just how happy she was to answer these questions put to her by someone she barely knew. She wasn't usually too comfortable in engaging in long conversations with people, even if they were as polite as Peridot was, but there was something about the student that enabled her to let her guard down. Despite her prim and proper appearance, Peridot seemed genuine, truly wanting to learn more and caring about the answers to her questions. Even when Lapis was incredibly busy, she was quick to down her tools and answer whatever queries Peridot had for her that day. Slowly but surely they struck up a friendship, one that grew only stronger as the days went by.

She didn’t realize her draw to the blonde as it slowly snuck up on her. Occasionally, she’d take a detour to check in on her new friend, giving a few cursory glances to check if she was actually there that day. Those glances became longer and longer, and soon she found herself watching Peridot work with wrapt interest. The blonde was incredibly expressive, her face shifting multiple times as she scoured through her mountains of paperwork; her nose would scrunch up, her eyebrows would furrow, or occasionally she’d stick out her tongue while highlighting a particularly important piece.

Lapis would catch herself and hurry away, embarrassed and hoping she hadn’t been noticed. She’d have looked like a creep, watching a student from behind the shrubbery; it was embarrassing. However, she couldn’t stop herself.

She’d decidedly kept this whole situation to herself; her friends would pester her for details of her work as they had noticed the positive change in her mood, but she knew if she gave them any details they’d most likely tease her and accuse her of having a crush on the blonde woman. She wasn’t the type to deny her feelings, crushes tended to appear out of nowhere for her and this seemed to be shaping up to be one, but she preferred to deal with them herself. It would pass, she was sure of it.

So she kept to her routine and hoped things would settle. It had been a while since she’d been in a relationship, so she was certain this was merely a crush by proximity. Peridot probably didn’t even swing her way.

So why was she still thinking about it?

Spring slowly morphed into summer, bringing with it higher temperatures and humidity. As a result, it didn’t surprise Lapis when she spotted the old gazebo along the western border being pulled down and replaced by a new one; with more students spending time outside, it stood to reason that something more structurally sound would take its place. She’d sat on it once on her lunch break, and the audible squeaks and groans that hit her ears the moment she put her weight on it was enough for her to gingerly remove herself and seek shelter elsewhere. 

It was definitely a positive change to the environment, but like any new wooden structure it had to be treated and painted to protect it from the elements. Naturally, the task fell to her as the other full-time gardeners were ‘too busy’ to do so. Wonderful. So, with her equipment in tow, she got herself set up and got to work.

This thing wasn’t large per se, but it was certainly fiddly. She had to make sure every nook and cranny of the complex structure was coated, else she was sure to get an earful from a University professor about the ‘unprofessional’ appearance. The treatment stunk too, meaning she had to wear a cumbersome mask to stop herself from inhaling any unpleasant fumes; add that to the stifling summer heat and she was quickly finding herself overheating. She’d come prepared with several bottles of water but having to stop and take several gulps so frequently she was sure she was going to run out. Stars, this was annoying.

“Hey Lapis!” 

She’d thought she would have gotten used to her friend’s ability to make a sudden appearance, but evidently not as she jumped, almost dropping the brush in her hand.

“Oh, h-hey Peridot” she replied, trying to ignore the way her heart squeezed when she met the blonde’s bright green eyes. “What’s up?”

“Oh you know, same old same old,” The blonde replied, her tone ever chipper. She gave Lapis a smile “Just been trying to find you is all, you weren’t in any of your normal spots so it took a while.”

Lapis swallowed; she’d gone out of her way to look for her? That made her stomach twist, but she ignored it, instead stepping around the gazebo to greet her friend properly.

“Yeah, sorry about that, I picked the short straw and got stuck painting this thing.” She jerked her thumb towards the offending structure. “Not the easiest job, but, hey. Gotta do what you gotta do.”

Peridot nodded, chewing her bottom lip as she eyed the equipment scattered around.

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” she replied, “however, I must admit I’m a little worried about you working outdoors in this weather, heatstroke is a thing you know.”

“Nah I’m fine. Don’t worry about it!” Lapis responded as she grabbed one of her nearby bottles, “I’m in the shade for the most part and I’ve got lots of water, see?” she took a swig, Peridot watching her with a furrowed brow.

“True, however you appear to be almost out,” she gestured to the empty water bottles stacked off to the side, “It’s important to stay hydrated in this heat, so, here-” She slung off her backpack and pulled out a large water bottle, which she proffered to a surprised Lapis “-you need it more than I do.”

Lapis stared at her, surprised, but quickly shook her head.

“That’s kind of you, but you don’t have to do that,” she replied, already feeling herself blushing at the act of kindness, “I’m okay, really!”

“No, no, I insist!” Peridot quickly shot back, “I can go back to the cafeteria anytime I want to top up my drinks, you’re stuck out here in the sun. Please?” She gave Lapis a pleading look that made her chest tighten; those wide green eyes were a definite weakness of hers, no matter how much she denied it. She swallowed and sighed, giving a small smile.

“Okay, thank you,” she replied as she gently took the bottle from the blonde’s hand, “as long as you’re sure.”

“I’m certain.” The reply was firm; Lapis chewed her lip and fiddled with the cap. It was green. Of course it was. Everything about Peridot was green.

“Wait-” Lapis was startled from her daze when the blonde continued, narrowing her eyes at her “are you wearing sunscreen? You’re wearing sunscreen right?”

“Uh… yeah…?”

“When did you last put any on?”

“This morning, when I left for work… why?” She stared confused at Peridot as the shorter woman pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

“You can’t just apply it once and expect it to last you all day, Lapis! You need to put more on throughout the day! Honestly…” she tutted and rummaged back in her bag again before retrieving a bottle of sunscreen.

“Peridot, I’m fine, I’ve been doing it for years and haven’t had any problems-”

“Hold out your arms.”

“... What?”

“Hold out your arms.” Peridot repeated, opening the bottle and staring at her. Lapis paused for a moment before obediently stretching her arms forward. She barely had any time to register what was happening before Peridot squeezing dollops of the cream onto her skin before beginning to rub it in.

Lapis’ brain did the mental equivalent of a dial-up tone.

If she wasn't so mentally discombobulated she would have insisted that she could do it herself, that Peridot didn't need to help her, but instead she stayed there, silent as Peridot fussed over her like a mother hen. The sensation of her fingers against her skin made her already red face deepen in shade; she didn't know what to think.

Peridot, finally satisfied with her handiwork, stepped back and gestured for Lapis to open her hand. When the gardener did so, she squeezed another blob of the cream onto her palm.

“You need to put some on your face too,” she commented as she shoved the bottle back in her bag, “...you probably don’t want me doing that.” Lapis rubbed her palms together and stared at the thick liquid coating them.

“What strength even is this?” Was all she could come out with, “It looks like some kinda cream cheese.”

“SPF 50! I carry it everywhere,” Peridot replied proudly, “when you’re pale like me, even looking at the sun funny can cause a burn; not fun!”

Lapis snorted, but applied the cream to her face anyway, rubbing it in as best she could. She felt Peridot watching her and raised an eyebrow at the chuckle she made.

“What’s so funny?”

“Ahh… well. You’ve got a big blob on your forehead there,” Peridot replied, biting back a grin. “Here, let me just-” She reached up and wiped it off, then furrowed her brow as she eyed her friend. “Are you alright? You’re really red in the face. You should probably drink something.”

Lapis gulped and quickly grabbed Peridot’s bottle she’d accidentally dropped and popped open the cap.

“I’m okay-!” She replied, wincing as her voice cracked. Thankfully, Peridot seemed to be too focused on something else to notice.

“Good, good,” The blonde murmured as she fished her phone out of her pocket. “Say, when do you have your break?” Lapis took another sip of water and stared blankly at her.

“Uh… 1:30 pm, why?”

“Excellent, so that’s in three and a half hours,” Peridot said brightly, tapping away on her phone. “I’ll set myself an alarm; you’d best be ready then because I’ll be coming back for you then.”

“... What..?” Lapis blinked, “Peri, you don’t really need to do that, I can tell the time-”

“Yes, I’m aware,” Peridot chuckled “but I also know you’re terrible with your breaks, when you’re caught up in a task you often forget or skip it entirely, and in this weather, you really need to stick to your breaks! Resting is important!”

Lapis… Felt called out. Was she really that predictable? Part of her wanted to protest, but the way Peridot was looking at her made her want to swallow her tongue; despite being a good foot shorter than her, the blonde had an air of authority about her that she used to her advantage.

“Okay...” She mumbled, rubbing off the leftover sunscreen on her trousers. Peridot beamed.

“Excellent! I knew you’d see it my way. I’ll be back later, don’t work too hard!” She hefted her bag onto her back and took her leave; Lapis watched her silently, chewing her bottom lip before shaking her head in amusement.

This woman… she really had her wrapped around her thumb, didn’t she? 


	3. Day 3: Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I’m a logical gem, Lapis; I use science and data to separate fact from fiction. I know the statistical likelihood of getting hurt by a thunderstorm and yet… what I fear is just the noise. That noise can’t hurt me, but it’s what makes me act like this.” She let out a shaky breath. “I feel so stupid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's part 3! It's shorter than the last two, but honestly, I think that's a good thing. I have a habit of going into so much detail with my fics that they get away from me (see chapter 2). This one is a gem AU, hope you enjoy it!

Lapis shifted, the hammock swinging slightly as she slowly awoke. Blinking slowly, she looked about her, baffled as to what had brought her out of unconsciousness. A bright flash of lightning briefly lit the room, followed moments later by a deep, powerful rumble. She heard the windows vibrate and quickly registered that her bedmate wasn’t by her side. 

“Peridot?” She called out, concern in her voice as she scanned the perimeter of the darkened room. Another brief flash, but this time the brief moment of silence prior to the thunder was filled with a whimper. Her brows knitted together as she called again, her voice partially obscured by another rumble of thunder. “Peridot, where are you?” 

“Lapis…?” The quavering voice of her partner came from her left, prompting her to sit up and swiftly exit her sleeping quarters. Below their workbench, curled up in a ball and shaking, was Peridot. Her hands wrapped firmly around her knees as she clung firmly to herself, eyes screwing shut as another flash of light illuminated her little corner. Lapis got on her hands and knees and shuffled closer to her.

“Peri, what are you doing?” She asked softly. She knew Peridot had had issues with thunderstorms in the past, but she thought the era 2 gem was over the worst of it. She was wrong, evidently. Peridot hugged herself even tighter and looked down at the floor with an expression that was a mix of fear and shame.

“I-I woke up to check on pumpkin,” she whined, gesturing to her left where their little orange pet sat, snuggled up against her. “She was barking a lot, so I thought something was wrong-” 

Another clap of thunder shook the windows, Peridot yelped with fright.

“Then this all happened and- Lapis it’s  _ so loud-! _ ” She cried, Pumpkin whimpering and leaping into the blue gem’s arms. Lapis cradled the shaking gourd in her arms and watched Peridot with grave concern. She wasn’t sure what to do. Usually, she’d be able to gently swing the two of them off to sleep in the hammock, but Peridot’s current location proved to be a difficult one. She sighed.

“Alright, make some room,” She breathed, shuffling her way beneath the wooden structure. Peridot scooted sideways just enough for her partner to fit beside her before burying her head in the crook of her blue neck. Lapis slowly began stroking Peridot’s hair, holding Pumpkin carefully in the other. She knew this had helped relax her before, but as her ministrations continued, it became clear that her efforts were in vain. The green gem was shaking against her, breaths coming out short and fast; she felt her small hands grasp tightly to her own forearm, nails digging in as another rumble buffeted them. Maybe talking? Talking might help. She knew how much Peridot loved to talk, maybe she could get some information out of her. “Peridot...” she whispered, resting her head on top of her partner’s and giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “You know, these storms can’t hurt you; not while we’re indoors like this.” She sighed “I know they’re loud and bright and they make the sky really dark-” Peridot whimpered again “-But in the end, it’s just rain. Just water.”

“I know… That’s why I hate feeling like this,” Peridot whined “I know I’m not going to get hurt, I’ve been outside in a thunderstorm before and all I’ve gotten was covered in water, nothing else. But still… It frightens me, and I hate that. I’m a logical gem, Lapis; I use science and data to separate fact from fiction. I know the statistical likelihood of getting hurt by a thunderstorm and yet… what I fear is just the noise. That noise can’t hurt me, but it’s what makes me act like this.” She let out a shaky breath. “I feel so stupid.”

This… wasn’t turning out as Lapis hoped. The last thing she wanted was for her partner to go into another pit of self-loathing. She’d got her talking, but at what cost?

“You’re not stupid, Peri,” She responded swiftly, “As you said, you’re a gem of logic; surely you of all gems would know why fears like this come to be, right?” She hadn’t started this conversation intending to dissect the reason behind Peridot’s irrational fear, but if that’s the direction it was going in, then she was going to do her best to help her figure this out. Maybe it would help. Peridot sniffled.

“Well… it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to link it back to the Cluster...” She shuffled her feet, “that’s what I mistook storms for the first time I heard one, but Steven showed me it was just rain. I’d never been on a planet with rain before...” Giving a shaky sigh, she leaned into Lapis’ side, “I didn’t think I’d find them scary after that, but… I suppose I never really lost that link between the two; when the Cluster started getting ready to emerge, the rumbling and shaking sounded eerily familiar. It was terrifying, Lapis.” She lifted her head, looking up at the blue gem with wide, fearful eyes. “Steven and I- we thought we weren’t going to make it out of there-!”

“But you did,” Lapis replied gently, running her fingers through Peridot’s fluffy blonde hair. “You stopped the Cluster and saved Earth. You’re a hero; both you and Steven. You were so brave, Peri.” Leaning down, she pressed her lips to her partner’s gem in a soft kiss, prompting the smaller of the two to flush and squirm shyly. That made her smile slightly. 

She knew despite the situation, the things that never failed to bolster Peridot’s mood were love and praise; the green gem was short in stature but big on ego, and also never turned down an excuse to spend time with her era one partner. They were inseparable at times.

There was another loud clap of thunder, followed by the rapid hammering of rain on the windowpane. Seemed the wind had changed direction. Wonderful. Lapis sighed as Peridot clung tightly to her once more.

She personally loved thunderstorms; so many thousands of years locked in that mirror had led her to witness hundreds of them, but she’d never been able to reach out and touch the water that fell from the sky, that called to her. She remembered the first time being out in a thunderstorm after being freed from her confinement; it had been incredible, she’d closed her eyes and turned up to the sky, letting the raindrops run down her face as a smile spread across her lips. It was one of the few things that truly made her happy during those darker times of recovery. Water was a veritable miracle, the lifeblood of this planet and many others scattered across space; if only Peridot could understand that. See that. See how wonderful and calming water could be. 

Her brows knitted together as she continued to stroke Peridot’s hair, feeling her body tense and relax after each wave of rumbles and crashes. If she could find a way to quieten the thunder somehow…

Then she had a brainwave.

Slowly removing her hand from Peridot’s locks, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her gem shone, bathing the wall behind them in a deep blue light as her water wings took shape. Peridot glanced back and stared, stunned.

“Lapis, what are you-?” Then Lapis’ wings shifted, curling around them and wrapping the trio in a blanket of water. Peridot gazed in wonder as the water flowed and shimmered, forming a bubble around them; Pumpkin barked excitedly, wagging her tail as she too stared up at the ripples that surrounded them.

“Hang on.” Lapis replied, giving her partner a smile, “Listen, can you hear that?” Peridot frowned, looking about her in confusion as her efforts were met with nothing but silence.

“... Hear what?” She asked, perplexed. “I can’t hear anything.”

“Exactly.” The blue gem flexed her fingers, allowing the bubble to flex, “I remember being underwater during thunderstorms; you couldn’t hear anything. I could see the lightning, feel the waves churning above me, but not once did I hear the sound of thunder.” Giving a soft sigh, she rubbed her partner's shoulder. “The chaos above me never affected me, I could have stayed under those waters for aeons...” She trailed off and took a deep breath as Peridot’s green eyes took in the view beyond the protective bubble. She saw the bright flash of lightning and braced herself, only to hear nothing but a soft, gentle hum. No rumble, no roar, just peace and silence.

Her body relaxed, shoulders dropping as her breathing became slow and steady; Lapis too, sensing the change, snuggled close and nuzzled her partner’s hair.

“Better?” She asked.

“Much,” Peridot replied, a smile finally gracing her lips. “Thank you, Lapis.”

“Anything for you, Peri.” Lapis murmured as she leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Peridot’s cheek. “Anything for you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, let me know what you think! Tomorrow: Free Day! Aka Gardening Part 2. See you then!


	4. Day 4: Gardening Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More human Lapidot antics! Lapis and Peridot finally get to spend some quality time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part 2 of the gardening saga! Let me know what you think.

Peridot kept to her word. The minute 1:30 pm rolled around, she strode right on over and tugged Lapis away from her work by the back of her polo shirt; the gardener barely had time to seal the paint cans back up and pack away her brushes before she was corralled back to Peridot’s green blanket. She was able to make a slight detour to the staff room beforehand but with Peridot waiting for her outside; she knew she couldn’t drag her heels too much and grabbed her lunch as quickly as possible. 

"... You sure you don't mind me sitting with you?" She asked hesitantly as she hurried to keep up with her shorter companion. "Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate you looking out for me, but I don't want to impede your studies, you know?"

"Don't be silly!" Peridot replied cheerfully, swiftly sitting on the neatly pressed fabric of her blanket and patting the spot beside her, "I enjoy your company, and besides! I need to take breaks too sometimes, so come! Sit!" Lapis awkwardly fiddled with the handles of her bagged lunch before shuffling over to take a seat, taking great care not to let her mud-stained boots touch the blanket Peridot had so carefully laid out on the grass.

Peridot smiled cheerily at her and rummaged in her own bag for something to eat, Lapis watching her as she settled into a more comfortable position. As the pair sat in brief, comfortable silence, it suddenly occurred to Lapis that they didn’t really know much about each other. Sure, she knew Peridot was a student at the University and had an interest in plants, but outside of that, no other topics ever came up. The fact that they’d known each other for almost a month and still had yet to expand their conversations beyond the plants surrounding them bothered her the more she thought about it. She furrowed her brow.

“So...” She said between bites of her sandwich, “what do you study here?” Peridot glanced up at her.

“Oh, Data Science,” she replied, gesturing to the small stack of books neatly organised beside her. “Got some businesses picked out that I’m hoping to apply to when I graduate, it’s the sort of job that’s available across a variety of sectors.”

That made sense; Peridot seemed like the analytical and focused type, calculating codes and such.

“Huh… interesting...” She tilted her head and turned to face her companion, “is it difficult?”

“Oh! You don’t know the half of it!” Peridot replied with a snort, “computers are incredibly complex. Don’t get me wrong, I love solving issues and creating programs, but staring at a small screen in a computer lab all day can get pretty tiring.”

“Is that why you come out here? To get away from it?”

“Absolutely, I think I’d go mad if I didn’t get the chance to enjoy some nature.” Peridot replied with a chuckle as she drummed her fingers on the blanket, gazing around her thoughtfully. “Technology is so rigid and uniform, so many rules and structures in place, and even one wrong digit can throw everything into disarray, but nature is more… free. Of course, a lot of these plants have been deliberately bred and altered in order to suit us humans, but it’s certainly more freeing than the depths of computer codes.” 

Lapis watched her, finding herself becoming enamoured by the dreamy, calm expression on the blonde's face. She reminded her of how she'd been years ago, back when she first started learning about the world of gardening and horticulture; there was a passion there. She swallowed and tried to grasp for a way to continue the conversation before she got too lost in watching her companion.

"Well, I don't blame you there. Gardens definitely make calming environments." She replied, "there's a certain peace you get in places like this that you don't find anywhere else… I'm glad you're able to come out here."

Peridot's Green eyes flicked over to meet her blue ones, and for a moment Lapis swore she spotted a softness to the blonde’s expression before it shifted back to her regular cheerful demeanour. 

"As am I! This place is a godsend, I grew up with a sizable garden back home, so being here helps a lot." She tilted her head. "And what about you? Sure, I know you're a gardener here, but you strike me as the more adventurous type, well, compared to me anyway.” She gave a sheepish smile. Lapis quirked a brow and gave a bemused expression.

“Adventurous? What gave you that idea?”

“Oh, well-” Peridot’s cheeks tinted a light pink as she shuffled in her seat, “you have this air about you that’s very laid-back, but also happy to take on a different route than the masses.” She fiddled with a strand of blonde hair, “... and you also have a lot of tattoos and such.”

Lapis snorted. She’d been wondering how long it would be before this topic came up in conversation; mostly the tone was of disapproval or disdain, judging her for a life choice that many viewed as one of poor choice. She’d tried not to let it bother her, but it got to her at times.

This time, however, she was more than happy to talk about it. Peridot’s interest was more of genuine curiosity rather than malice. She rolled up her right sleeve and glanced down at the variety of ink that decorated her arm in a full sleeve.

“Oh, these?” She said with a smile, “Yeah, they’re pretty cool I guess..” Peridot was staring at them, eyes wide with intrigue. Lapis chewed her lip. “You want to touch them?”

“I-” Peridot blinked and looked up at her hesitantly, “I mean, I would but, are you sure that’s okay?” Lapis nodded, feeling amused by the blonde’s response. She opened her mouth to comment on the fact that Peridot had had no issues manhandling her before, but the words died on her lips as Peridot reached forward and gently began tracing the outline of one of the deeply pigmented images with her finger. The soft touch caused a wave of goosebumps to shoot across her arm, making all the hairs stand on end and Lapis’s breath catch in her throat; she swallowed and tried her best to return her focus to the enraptured expression on Peridot’s face as she tilted her head and observed the illustrations in detail.

“These are beautiful...” She murmured, her finger slowly following the flowing tentacles of the large octopus spread across Lapis’ shoulder and upper arm. “It’s all aquatic creatures; sharks and fish… You must love the ocean.”

“Heh, you could say that,” Lapis replied as she steadied her breathing and fought the blush on her cheeks. “I grew up in a little seaside town not far from here.”

“Huh.” Peridot withdrew her hand and looked up at Lapis’ flushed face. “That’s interesting; I’d have thought you would have picked plants since you spend so much time around them.”

“They’re definitely in the plans for my next collection,” Lapis replied as she pulled her sleeve back down, “I didn’t spend much time in gardens as a kid though, that was reserved for the ocean. I spent so many hours out there, diving, exploring… It was a lot of fun.”

"Did you ever think of working in that field then? Seems like the ocean means a lot to you."

"I uh… won't go into it too much, but yeah, I thought about it years ago."

“Why didn’t you go through with it? Lost interest?”

Lapis bit her lip. She wanted to be honest, but in truth she’d never been comfortable discussing the topic with anyone, even folks like Peridot who she considered such a close friend. She supposed she could keep it short and sweet.

She shrugged "... Let's just say the ocean is a beautiful place that can also be kinda scary, so I still love the water, I just prefer viewing it from afar most of the time these days. Plants are far less dangerous. These ones here, at least."

There was a pause, then she tensed at the sensation of Peridot’s hand on hers. She glanced over and was surprised by the concerned expression on the blonde’s face.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Peridot said softly, “I was curious, but this is obviously not a comfortable topic for you. You don’t have to tell me any more if you don’t want to.”

Lapis, blinking in surprise, gave a small smile and squeezed the pale girl’s hand.

“It’s okay, I’m used to people asking, no worries. Thank you, though.”

“Don’t mention it,” Peridot replied, letting out a soft sigh, “I don’t like to press questions but I have a tendency to do so, so if I ever make you feel uncomfortable again please don’t hesitate to call me out on it. I’m not the greatest when it comes to social interactions.”

“I appreciate that.” Lapis replied, raising an eyebrow and smiling, “and you’re pretty good at the whole social interaction thing in my opinion. You always come across as super well spoken and polite when you talk to me, unlike  _ a lot  _ of the folks here,” She snorted. “They have some serious attitude problems.”

“Well, I’m glad you think so!” Peridot responded, “I’ve been working on it. Being around so many students with such uppity attitudes made me more aware of my own behaviours. I didn’t want to end up being more concerned about my social standing than being a good person. Like you said, a lot of students here seem to have a real uh- how do I put it...”

“A stick up their arse?”

“I-” Peridot stared at her as her eyebrows shot up. The tanned gardener couldn’t stop herself from laughing at the shocked expression.

“What, too rude for you Peri?” She said teasingly, “not used to such ‘vulgar’ language?” She bit back another laugh as Peridot’s face turned a bright shade of red. 

“Wha- Hey!” The shorter girl whined, folding her arms and eyeing her companion indignantly, “I know how to swear thank you very much, I just choose not to do it! ...Plus you caught me off guard.” Lapis shook her head, giggling,

“Whatever you say!” 

“Quiet you… you Clod!”

Lapis almost choked on the bite she’d just taken from her sandwich. Swallowing through a small coughing fit, she stared at Peridot with mirth in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, clod? Are we getting creative with our insults now?” She snorted. Peridot just pouted as Lapis continued to tease her. She couldn’t help it, Peridot’s indignant expression was so undeniably cute; the way she scrunched up her nose and narrowed her bright green eyes, trying to be indignant but failing miserably at it.

Eventually Lapis stopped herself, giving her friend’s hair a playful ruffle and apologizing. Peridot just huffed and shook her head, but there was a hint of a smile there in her grumpiness.

“Alright-” Lapis stretched and glanced at her watch, eyes widening as she noticed the time “-I should probably go back to work, jeez. Time went by really fast! Crap.” She clambered to her feet and gave Peridot a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, I really need to get going; Greg is easygoing, but there’s only so far I can stretch my breaks before I risk getting in trouble.”

“That’s alright,” Peridot replied, shrugging. She gave a half-smile but Lapis could see the disappointment in her eyes, “you’ve got work to do.”

“Mhm...” Lapis sighed, “but thank you for hanging out with me.” She smiled, “it was pretty fun not gonna lie; plus, it was great to get to know you a little better. Maybe we could, I dunno, do it again sometime?” Her cheeks tinged pink as she shyly rubbed the back of her neck. Peridot sat up straight and nodded almost immediately.

“Of course! I had fun too, we can definitely do this again. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Her excited expression made Lapis’ heartbeat accelerate. She swallowed and gave a nod.

“Yes, tomorrow. Take care of yourself, yeah?” The blonde nodded happily and waved her off, Lapis finding it hard to turn herself away. She didn’t even realize she’d taken the borrowed water bottle with her until she was packing up at the end of the day. At that point her friend was long gone, so there was no point in returning it now. Sighing and trying to quell the blush on her cheeks, she put it in her bag and decided it was best to clean it before returning it to her instead. It was the polite thing to do.

When she made it back to her apartment, she carefully placed it on the kitchen counter, drumming her fingers against the tinted plastic. This whole thing felt... Confusing to her. Finally getting to spend true quality time with Peridot, being able to get to know her on a more personal level, there was no denying that her draw to her was more than just aesthetic. Peridot cared about her; she had gone out of her way to help her without expecting anything in return, insisting on giving her support despite being initially rebuffed. Sure, Lapis had had friendships in the past where such a bond had developed, but those had taken well over a year or several years, while she had only known Peridot just over a month.

There was a draw to her that she would be stupid to deny, and despite her rejection of the attraction she knew now, at that moment, that her feelings were not going away. Being able to relax and have fun, tease and mess with Peridot and make her do that adorable little pout… Stars, she was in way over her head; that little blonde had wormed her way into her heart and wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Lapis never thought she’d be referring to herself as a useless lesbian, but here she was; there was no denying how much she adored her friend. Her cute little button nose adorned with a smattering of freckles, her blonde hair that stuck up at odd angles, her seemingly endless collection of dorky green button-down shirts… Lapis wondered what it would be like to hug her, run her fingers through that fluffy hair.

She groaned and tugged at her hair, screwing her eyes shut in frustration. That was it. She needed to do something. Not a full out confession, absolutely not, but maybe some way to throw out some hints; she still had no idea about Peridot’s sexuality, so for all she knew she could have yet another unrequited crush on a straight girl. She needed to find a way to figure out which way the little nerd swung. But how? Asking outright was out of the question. That would set a tone for the conversation she didn’t want at all.

Sighing, she popped the bottle in the dishwasher and slammed it shut. Okay, it was getting too late for these sorts of mental exercises, she’d think on it tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought that was it? Nope! Once more the story got away from me and I have way more plot to write than would fit into a simple one shot, so I'm biting the bullet and splitting this up once more. Is it cheating? Probably, but I'm doing this for the lapidot! I don't want to skimp on any details.  
> If you want to see the end of this little saga, you'll have to wait until day 7. See you tomorrow!


	5. Day 5: Marriage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weeks after finally getting married, Lapis finds herself baffled by her wife Peridot's strange behaviour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here you go, enjoy part 5! Let me know what you think.

Watching the sun slowly rise from her vantage point, Lapis slowly drummed her fingers on the balcony railing. Everything was so calm this time of day, all the humans still fast asleep or beginning to get ready for their day; there was a time that she'd found these routines amusing, creatures limited to being active solely during the daytime and needed to sleep in order to be productive. Nowadays she'd learned to love being able to just... switch off from the world for several hours without worrying about wasting any time. Having a routine like this was peaceful, reassuring.

However, things had taken a deviation from the norm this past month. Her eyes were drawn down as the sunlight glinted off the green band around her finger, the tinted metal contrasting with her deep blue skin; a smile ghosted across her lips as she swivelled it around with her other hand. It had really happened; she was still having trouble comprehending it.

Two weeks ago, she and Peridot had finally gotten married. It hadn't been a spontaneous thing, Lapis hadn't been aware of the concept, let alone developed the desire to do it herself until Peridot had shyly brought it up in conversation; the green gem hadn't been insistent about it, instead just casually introducing the topic more and more frequently until Lapis got the hint that it was something her era 2 partner was seriously considering. 

She’d immediately sought advice. Steven was her first thought, but he’d still been on his countrywide trip at the time, and besides, they’d all been given a firm wake-up call months prior when the teen was pushed to his limit. He’d been in therapy for a while at that point and was still open to talking, but she didn’t want to push her own issues onto him. So, after some thought, she reluctantly approached Garnet.

Despite her initial hesitancy, she found it relatively easy to open up to her; the fusion exuded calm, collected energy that made Lapis feel at ease. Garnet had been surprised (or at least Lapis thought so. It was hard to tell her expressions behind the visor) but been open to answering the barrage of questions Lapis threw her way. Marriage between gems seemed such a foreign concept to her, so much so that she’d forgotten that Garnet herself was the product of one until she brought it up in conversation. She’d felt embarrassed to admit that, but then again she wasn’t involved in the personal lives of the original crystal gems.

That was something she should work on, she supposed.

Leaving that conversation with calm encouragement from Garnet, she knew she had a lot to think about. She’d distanced herself from Peridot for a time as she debated it but slowly she became more engaged and informed in their conversations.

And the rest was history, as humans liked to say.

They’d gotten married three weeks ago. It had been a small affair, neither of them wanting overboard with decorations, and there would not be many guests, anyway. It was strange to profess her love for the short green gem in front of an audience, so she fumbled with her words several times and shuffled her feet, trying to keep her gaze locked on her partner’s face that smiled warmly back at her with encouragement. Any trepidations she’d had left her mind the minute she met her gaze; this gem was the one she wanted to make this bond with, no matter what.

The first few days were wonderful; they’d taken time off from their duties in little Homeschool to spend time together and get used to their new situation without any interruptions; they hadn’t done much except curl up in their hammock together in blissful silence, but as the days wore on things slowly began to change. Peridot became more and more distant, preferring to spend her days outside in the greenhouse regardless if she was really needed there, or locking herself away in her private lab on the floor below. Lapis had approached her about it multiple times, but each time Peridot would brush things off and insist everything was completely fine.

It obviously wasn’t, and eventually, Lapis became frustrated. She removed herself from the situation too and tried to focus on her own personal projects, but the awkward silence between them became deafening. Had she done something wrong? Peridot had assured her that wasn’t the case, but Lapis didn’t believe her for a minute. There was something going on, and if she didn’t get to the bottom of it soon, she was going to go mad.

She tensed as the clanking sound of her partner’s trash can lid made contact with the small landing platform they both used to access the highest point of their home. She swallowed, looking over her shoulder; the moment Peridot entered, brow furrowed in thought, she cleared her throat.

“Hey, Peridot?”

The green gem started, body stiffening in surprise.

“Oh- Hey Lapis! I was just uh...” She gestured vaguely in the direction of her lab, prompting Lapis to sigh quietly.

“Can it wait? I want to talk to you.”

“Uh, sure? What’s going on? You okay?”

Lapis wanted to snort at that. This whole time Peridot had barely said two words to her, and now she was acting concerned? Interesting.

“Just… come over here for a second, please?” She gave Peridot a pleading look, the green gem biting her lip and looking at her warily. She nodded though and gingerly made her way over to Lapis’ side. The blue gem eyed her partner hesitantly.

“What’s been going on with you lately?- and don’t say it’s nothing.” She continued abruptly as she saw Peridot open her mouth. “You’ve been ignoring me, for  _ weeks _ Peri! I don’t understand it. At all.”

Peridot gulped, eyes flicking about nervously; Lapis could practically hear her brain whirring.

“I-” The green gem chewed on her lower lip, “I told you before-”

“Peridot.” Lapis’ tone was firm, but the slight wobble in her voice gave away just how upset she was. “I know you’re not being honest with me. You promised you wouldn’t hide anything anymore, remember? You  _ promised! _ ” She took Peridot’s hand in hers and squeezed it, her eyes becoming watery the longer she spoke, “Please, Peri...”

The two of them stood in tense, uncomfortable silence. Then Peridot’s shoulders slumped and she let out a defeated sigh.

“I...ok,” she swallowed, “Lapis, I don’t know how to say it, at least, not without it coming across wrong-”

“Just be honest Peri, no secrets okay?” Lapis watched her partner with growing concern; she was clearly upset, and the fact that the blue gem had no idea how to help her stressed her out even further. “Whatever it is, I won’t get mad, I promise.”

Peridot’s body language shifted a little at that, but she was still nervous. With a long sigh, she leaned on the railing and tapped her foot anxiously. 

“Okay...” She took a deep breath, “this marriage thing… It’s made me a bit confused.”

“...What?” Lapis’ eyebrows knitted together as her grip on her partner’s hand loosened, “you don’t… regret it, do you?”

“No, no! Of course not! I mean-” Peridot’s eyes darted around frantically, “ugh, I don’t know how to explain it!” She tugged at her hair. “Marriage just… carries a certain connotation with it for me, you know? I didn’t even think about it or feel bothered by it until everything set in and I realized it was really… real. So to speak.” She swallowed nervously as she watched Lapis’ expression, “I didn’t even know about the concept of marriage until Steven introduced me to it. I thought it was weird that two humans would choose to do all this paperwork and have a ceremony and get the authorities involved just so they could.. Continue to be together? It was just weird. But then, everyone started planning Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding.” She sighed. “It was supposed to be a good time. Everyone was trying their hardest to be positive, and Steven was making such an effort to cheer us up when we were down, but at the end of the day… I was there alone.”

Lapis felt her heart drop to her stomach.

“Peridot...” She murmured, “I’m so sorry about that, you know I-”

“No, please, it’s okay.” Peridot replied, grasping Lapis’ hands and looking up at her, “You’ve already apologized enough, I’m not saying this because I hold any resentment or frustration, I just- it was such a difficult and traumatic time for me, for all of us. Yes, that was the day you came back, but we barely had any time to talk before we were both poofed, and then we were so focused on saving Steven when we reformed we didn’t have time to do or say anything to each other. Everything was so non stop, so stressful and scary, I think my mind can’t stop associating the event of marriage with all those experiences.”

Silent, trying to comprehend what her partner had said, Lapis felt an ice-cold fear building in her gut. No matter how many times Peridot had reassured her that she was forgiven for leaving, that guilt had set up permanent residence in her head; so hearing this reinforced that guilt that she had tried so desperately to squash. Peridot, however, wasn’t looking Lapis in the eye any more, so failed to notice the change in demeanour. The longer she talked, the easier she was finding it. Why hadn’t she don’t this earlier? Not getting any verbal reaction from her partner, she took a deep breath and continued.

“Our marriage wasn’t a bad thing, not at all; I wanted this for so long so it’s frustrating that I have all these confusing negative connotations linked to what should be a special day, you know?” She ran a hand through her hair. “All I had for a point of reference for all of it was the wedding of Ruby and Sapphire, sure I could research but human marriages aren’t the same, they’re creatures with limited lifespans who want to get that bond before their inevitable demise. As dark as that sounds. Gem marriages though… I knew I wanted it with you, but the logistics confused me. We were there and said our vows and did everything we were supposed to, but something felt... Missing.” Sighing, she looked out at the rising sun, “when Ruby and Sapphire were pronounced married they uh.. You know. Became Garnet.”

Lapis stared at her. She knew exactly what Peridot meant, knew exactly why she had been so nervous about bringing it up. In a more logical state of mind, she would have talked things through, rationalized these thoughts that were whizzing through her mind… but she couldn’t stop it. This was just another layer of guilt on top of an already thick layer of worry and self-loathing that she’d been battling years after.

“You...” She choked out, “you mean fusion, don’t you.”

A cold breeze ruffled her hair as she stared at Peridot with worried, wide eyes. The blonde#s head drooped and she gave a nod.

“Yeah...” She sighed, “as I said, I had no point of reference aside from that so-”

“You know I can’t do that.”

Lapis’ tone was sharp, her hands shaking as she began looking everywhere except at her shorter partner, “I’m never doing that again, I told you- if that’s what you wanted, why didn’t you say something??”

“That’s not what I meant!” Peridot cried, standing up abruptly and grasping for Lapis’ hands, “please Lapis, just let me explain-”

“I can’t do this again Peridot, you can’t keep things from me that are this important!” Lapis stepped quickly away, eyes glazing over again as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. She was beyond logic at this point. It had been years since she’d felt like this, she thought she was over it, but hearing all these conflicting statements from the one person she’d finally trusted after dealing with so much. Her breathing was fast and shallow and she couldn’t ignore the urge to get out of there.

“I’m trying to!” Peridot exclaimed, a pleading expression on her face as she reached out a hand, “I told you I didn’t know how to say this without upsetting you, but you have to believe me, it’s not what you think-!”

But it was too late. Lapis’ mind was on a single spiral and there was no way to reel it back in. Peridot watched in horror as her partner summoned her wings and took to the air, ignoring the logic that was screaming at her to stay.

“Lapis! Wait!” Cried Peridot as she frantically fumbled to locate her trash can lid. By the time she’d grabbed it and taken to the skies, Lapis was long gone; with no clue where the blue gem had vanished off to, Peridot scanned the skyline frantically, her heart pounding in her chest.

“You- you promised you wouldn’t get upset...”

She whimpered to the empty air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahhh there's only so much cute mushy stuff I can write before it gets too much, haha! Sorry about that, but hey, sometimes you just gotta write some angst to cleanse the palate. Hope you enjoyed it, and see you tomorrow!


	6. Day 6: The Barn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot becomes frustrated by her inability to view the night sky; Lapis decides to help out her human friend. (Gem/Human AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's day 6! I'm going to admit, this one was a little rushed, but I still hope you all enjoy it! Please give feedback if you feel the need to.

Peridot grumbled, eyes narrowing as she peered through her brand new telescope into the night sky. The store she’d purchased it from had promised crystal clear focus, a magnification far superior to other more expensive brands, and yet so far she was unsuccessful in getting that perfect shot. She’d been so careful to plan, picking a night where the sky was clear and the weather was warm enough to allow her to stay on the roof of her apartment complex for long periods of time, surrounded by her notebooks and trusty tablet in one hand, but to no avail. She cursed under her breath and adjusted the direction of the device once more, in a vain attempt to improve her predicament.

This was ridiculous.

"Hey, Peridot, what're you up to?"

She yelped in surprise and jerked back to see Lapis deftly landing beside her, her water wings dissolving as her feet gently came into contact with the concrete surface.

"Jesus!" The blonde squeaked, "Don't sneak up on me like that! You scared me!"

The blue-skinned woman smiled apologetically and shrugged,

"Sorry Peri, I forget you humans don't have the best hearing."

Peridot eyed her suspiciously before sighing and returning to the task at hand. She’d known the alien for almost two years at this point, but there were still times that her ability to fly with little to no noise caught her off guard more often than she cared to admit. Had it really been that long? Damn, time really flies by. Lapis had latched onto her shortly after arriving on earth, seeming to take solace in the fact that Peridot wasn’t the type of human to run screaming to the authorities about coming into contact with an alien; far from it, actually. Peridot had been fascinated with the possibility of extraterrestrial life and would tell anyone who would listen that she completely believed in aliens; statistically, it made perfect sense. She’d certainly never thought she’d come into contact with one, let alone develop a friendship, but here she was. 

“Well, anyway. To answer your question, I’m testing out my new telescope,” She gestured to the offending device set up in front of her, “but unfortunately it’s not working out as well as I’d hoped. Nothing wrong with the product itself, I don’t think, more so an issue with the location. I don’t think any telescope, no matter how powerful, is going to be able to combat the amount of light pollution in this city.”

“Light pollution?” Lapis tilted her head curiously, “what’s that?”

“Ah,” Peridot sighed, “it’s when artificial lights, like those in houses and along roads, brighten the night sky and inhibit a person’s ability to observe the night sky. It’s frustrating, really.”

“Huh… that’s weird. But I guess it makes sense; I did always wonder why the stars looked so faded down here compared to out in space.”

Ah yes, that’s right; Peridot had forgotten that Lapis had the ability to fly out into space whenever she felt like it. She’d extended the offer to Peridot once before, which she had initially been ecstatic about before having to reluctantly inform the alien that humans weren’t able to breathe in the vacuum space. She was envious of her, of her ability to be as free as she wished… within reason. She ruffled her own blonde hair and shrugged.

“Yup… as much as technology has been an asset to the human race, it’s also been quite the deficit. Frustrating, really.” She slipped her tablet back into her satchel and began rummaging through her notes as she glanced over at her blue companion, quirking a brow at the thoughtful expression on her face. “Something the matter?”

Lapis blinked, staring at her blankly for a moment before clasping her hands together.

“Oh, no no, nothing’s wrong at all. Just listening.” She smiled.

“Hm.” Peridot shrugged and turned another page, “I swear, if it weren’t for the astrophysics courses here I would have never set foot in this city, I used to get such clear skies back home in the countryside, dammit...” She groaned. “I used to get such good views atop the lighthouse...” Continuing to mutter under her breath, she failed to notice Lapis’ expression shifting to one of excitement.

“You know,” the taller of the two said, tapping her lip, “I might have an idea.” She grinned when Peridot looked up at her quizzically. “Is that telescope heavy?”

“Uh… not particularly?” Peridot replied, confused, “it comes in its own bag- Why are you looking at me like that?” Lapis giggled and clapped her hands together.

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied cheerfully, “Just pack up your stuff really quickly, I know what we can do.” Peridot was perplexed, but the way Lapis was looking at her eased her misgivings. She folded the telescope up, still slightly confused, and shoved the notebooks away in her dark green satchel.

“Alright, all tidied up,” she said she as she stood up fully and stretched “now what are you-”

“Have you got a good hold on your stuff?”

“I- yeah?”

“Not going to drop anything?”

Peridot stared at her with brows furrowed.

“Of course, what-?” She wasn’t given the chance to finish her question. Before she knew what was going on, Lapis had scooped her up bridal style and launched off of the top of the building, her wings already formed extending outwards as she swooped up into the air.

“ **Lazuliiii!!** ” Peridot screamed as she clung onto the gem for dear life, hoping to god that she didn’t let her expensive equipment slip through her fingers.

“It’s okay!” Lapis called out over the sound of rushing wind, “I’ve got you! You won’t fall!” Peridot knew she could trust her, but nevertheless, she white-knuckled it, refusing to loosen her grip in any capacity. 

“Where are we going??” Her voice cracking as she tried her best not to look down. Lapis snorted.

“You said you couldn’t see the stars because of all the city lights, right? Well, I think I know a spot that might be much better!”

Peridot wanted to question her more, but her stomach flipped as her captor made a sharp turn; making her decide it’d probably be best for her to keep her mouth shut for fear she was going to be sick. 

The further they flew, the more sparse the ground below them became; long winding lanes and small scatterings of houses replaced streets and skyscrapers, the hustle and bustle of the metropolis now far behind them. Soon they were flying over vast stretches of farmland, broken only by what Peridot presumed to be farmhouses. The open environment would have been peaceful, if it weren’t for the fact that they were still speeding along at a pace Peridot could only describe as fear-inducing. When the wind on her skin slowed and the sounds dulled to a whisper, she found they were landing in front of an old, unlit building in the middle of a field.

She was confused.

Lapis carefully deposited her on the ground, but the blonde still stumbled slightly, her legs shaking from the adrenaline.

“You okay?” Lapis asked gently, “Sorry, I suppose I should have given you a warning before taking off like that.”

“You think?” Peridot replied dryly as she steadied herself. “That was vertigo-inducing, to say the least! Where even are we? What is this place?”

“Oh, this is my barn,” Lapis replied nonchalantly, “don’t you remember?” Peridot stared at her blankly for a moment before it clicked.

When they’d first met, Lapis had told her she’d spent her first few months on Earth holed up in a random barn, too nervous to go out and explore this new planet she’d landed on. She’d been curious about her alien friend’s prior abode but never expected to go there herself, especially in the middle of the night after being uprooted unceremoniously from her home. Sensing the blonde’s continued confusion, Lapis continued.

“It’s a pretty peaceful place, and I used to get magnificent views here, especially up there.” She pointed, Peridot following her finger and gulping at the large silo bolted onto the side of the barn. 

“...You want me to go up there?” She asked nervously, “are you sure that’s a good idea?” The buildings appeared to be in a state of dilapidation; she doubted their structural integrity.

“Eh it’s fine,” Lapis brushed her off, taking flight and gracefully landing atop the tall structure, “see? Perfectly stable!” She stomped her feet, the loud clanging echoing throughout the wide-open space. Peridot winced, but she couldn’t hear anything suspicious; no creaking of bolts or splintering of wood… She chewed her lip. The confusion was still there as to why she’d been taken here in the first place, but those thoughts were halted as once again, Lapis swooped down and took her back into the air. It was slower this time, the blue gem easing her up and carefully placing her on the very top of the silo. She wanted to protest again, say she would rather be given a warning before being hoisted into the air like that once more, but one glance up to the sky made her priorities shift.

With no lights from the buildings below, the sky was incredibly clear; there were more stars visible in the sky than she’d ever seen before, shimmering against the black backdrop of space. Her mouth dropped open.

“...Wow” Was all she could muster, slowly turning to the grinning alien beside her; “Is this why you brought me out here?” Lapis chuckled.

“Well obviously, you were complaining about how the city lights were impeding your ability to stargaze, so I realized my old place was in the middle of nowhere, no lights to pollute the sky or anything.” She raised an eyebrow, amused. “Why d'you think I’d carried you all the way out here for?”

Peridot felt a bit dumb asking now. In hindsight, it made sense, but she’d just been so confused and nervous about the surprise journey she hadn’t been thinking logically. She scratched her head and gave a nervous chuckle.

“Heh.. fair enough. My bad...” She trailed off as she once again lifted her gaze upwards. It really was incredible. Quickly she fumbled to reassemble her telescope, balancing it as best she could on the cold metal surface as Lapis looked on in amusement. The minute she looked through the lens, her face lit up. “Lapis, this is incredible!” She exclaimed, “there’s so much here! So much detail! Oh, I’ve got to write this down.” She grabbed a notebook and opened it at the next empty page, scribbling down random notes and talking excitedly in broken sentences about the different constellations, stars and planets she was sure she was seeing...

Lapis sat beside her, nodding and smiling politely; she had no clue what Peridot was on about, considering she didn’t know much about the space surrounding Earth, and those that she did know about had different names. She couldn’t understand the concept of constellations either, but she didn’t have the heart to tell Peridot. She was just so excited. 

As Peridot rambled on, gesticulating and bouncing in her seat as she scoured the night sky, she failed to notice the wistful expression on Lapis’ face. 

The blue gem refused to admit, but she enjoyed Peridot’s company more than she thought she would. There would have been a time that she’d not even entertain the thought of going out of her way to make the human happy, but the longer she spent with her, the stronger the bond became. To make Peridot happy? That was good enough for her. When the little blonde nerd was around, the chaos of this new planet felt a little less scary.

When Peridot grabbed her hand and earnestly looked her in the eyes, thanking her profusely for bringing her out here, she was thankful that the darkness was hiding the dark blue blush spreading across her cheeks.

She didn’t know what was going on with her, but she wasn’t scared; not any more. This little human meant more to her than she could say.

Maybe Earth wasn’t so bad after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more day to go! The concept I had for this one was changed only hours before I started to write it, so I apologize if it isn't up to my usual standard ^^; then again, I am my own worst critic so! Let me know what you think and I'll see you all tomorrow!


	7. Day 7: Human AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final part in the gardening saga; who knows what will happen?
> 
> I mean I know, because I wrote it.
> 
> .......
> 
> Anyway!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.
> 
> Combining my job with daily story creation/uploading resulted in exhaustion and creative burn-out. Who knew?  
> But yes, this chapter is incredibly late, unfortunately; I got to a point where I felt like I was forcing myself to write and it was no longer enjoyable so I decided to take my time and write it as and when instead of all in one go. As you can see this chapter ended up being substantially longer than any of the previous ones, so I am hoping it is worth the wait.
> 
> Please enjoy.

The following day didn't get off to a good start.

Lapis' sleep had been intermittent, preventing her from getting the hours she needed and, when she finally did settle down, she ended up sleeping straight through her alarm. What little of her morning routine she had time to do consisted mainly of her rushing about her apartment cursing under her breath; she barely remembered to grab her lunch and the infamous bottle before sprinting out the front door. She got to work just shy of twenty minutes late; now more than ever she was thankful for having a manager as laid-back as Greg, as he gave her a free pass due to her usual habit of being punctual. Just this once, though, any more and procedure would dictate a warning and/or write up.

Despite not getting in any trouble, the chaos of the morning had thrown Lapis’ mindset into disarray. Her tasks took longer than normal, she found herself becoming frustrated over the smallest things, and to top it all off, she hadn’t seen Peridot  _ once.  _ Logically speaking it was probably for the best that she hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to the small blonde, there was a chance she’d have taken her frustration out on her and that was far from what she’d ever want, but she still wanted to talk to her at some point, even for just a moment. Seeing that smiling face and chipper demeanor would surely bring her out of her slump. Right?

With that thought in mind, she persevered through her shift until her watch read 1:30. Swiftly, she tidied her equipment away and strode quickly in the direction of Peridot’s usual location, lunch in one hand and the bottle in the other. However, upon arriving through a break in the trees, her gate faltered as her eyes were met with a surprising sight.

Peridot wasn’t alone.

Beside her on the still immaculate blanket, casually stretched out and slowly devouring a share size packet of chips, was a short tanned woman with light purple hair. She and Peridot appeared to be engaged in deep conversation, Peridot’s face indicating she wasn’t best pleased by the myriad of crumbs being spread across her blanket. Lapis hesitated; her desire to join in this surprise group discussion waning and replaced by the thought that it might be best to just turn around and leave. She almost did so, but in that split second Peridot glanced up and made eye contact. The blonde sat up straight and waved excitedly, calling her name; it would be rude to leave now, especially in front of company… So Lapis swallowed her nerves and approached her friend, offering a slight smile as she did so.

“Hey Lapis!” Peridot exclaimed happily, “I wasn’t sure I’d get to see you today! How’re you doing?” Lapis scratched her cheek awkwardly as she walked up and offered a shrug.

“Uh, hey Peri. I’m alright, just on my break,” her eyes flicked over to the stranger who was eyeing her with a mischievous expression on her face, “-who’s this?” Peridot opened her mouth, but was cut off as the woman in question sat up stretched, and spoke up.

“The name’s Amethyst!” She replied, grinning, “I’m an old friend of Peri’s, cool to meet you!” She extended a hand which Lapis eyed wearily, put off by the coating of whatever savory snack the short woman had been consuming. Noticing this, Amethyst quickly wiped her hand on her jeans before extending it again, giving an apologetic smile. The gardener hesitated but reciprocated the gesture, gingerly shaking her hand.

“I’m Lapis,” she replied, “same.” That wasn’t exactly true, she wasn’t too happy about the unexpected company, but she couldn’t exactly  _ say _ that; this woman was one of Peridot’s friends. It would have been beyond rude to state her mind so bluntly.

“I was hoping I’d get the chance to meet you in person,” Amethyst continued as she relinquished her grip and rummaged for her food again, “Peridot’s been talking my ear off about her new gardener friend, I thought it only fitting to see the person behind all the hype!”

“Amethyst!” Peridot yelped as her cheeks turned a healthy shade of pink, the lavender-haired woman laughing before tossing a chip in the air and catching it in her mouth. Lapis blinked in surprise as she stood awkwardly to the side.

“You… talk about me?” She asked shyly, shifting from one foot to another. Peridot looked up at her and swallowed, nodding her head.

“W-well yes, of course! When Amethyst calls to check up on me and ask how things are going, I think it’s only fair I fill her in on the social aspects of my life as well as the academic.” She twiddled her thumbs as her eyes darted about, Lapis watching her, perplexed. She was flattered that Peridot was talking about her so much, it clearly meant she was important enough to her to warrant prolonged discussions. However, for some reason this situation rubbed her the wrong way. Amethyst wasn’t annoying or bad per se, but the thought of her knowing the ins and outs of her interactions with Peridot made her gut twist. She swallowed and tried to squash the thoughts down; they weren’t beneficial in any shape or form, anyway.

“Trust me, when Peridot talks about someone or something she likes, you can’t get her to shut up.” Amethyst said with a laugh as Peridot’s blush spread up to her ears, “usually the topics are about computers and include jargon I don’t understand at all, but hey, as long as she’s happy.”

Lapis couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. That was certainly true; when Peridot got into one of her long-winded, excited speeches about the latest plant facts she’d learned over the weekend, she would just keep going until she wore herself out. Lapis had quickly learned it was best to just let her go on, giving the occasional polite noise to give the illusion of engagement as she continued her own horticultural work. Some would find someone talking at them while they worked annoying, but when it came to Peridot, the thought didn’t even cross Lapis’ mind. 

Honestly? She just enjoyed hearing Peridot’s voice.

“So…” She said awkwardly, catching herself and attempting a topic change before her mind went down  _ that _ train of thought, “are you a student here too, or...?”

“Me? A student? Pfft nah, as if I’d ever fit in here!” Amethyst snorted, grinning at her. “I’m just stopping by. Usually she likes to plan out my visits, but I was feeling spontaneous! So I just showed up this morning, and the rest is history.”

“I would have preferred you have at least given me a heads up.” Peridot replied tiredly. Amethyst shrugged.

“Yeah, I know, I know. But you would have said to ‘save it for when you have more free time’. You’ve been studying every day and you need a break! Especially on the lead-up to finals; you’re pretty bad when it comes to overworking yourself, Peri. Can’t have you getting all frazzled now can we eh?” She ruffled Peridot’s hair which prompted the blonde to yelp indignantly and pout. The pale narrowed her eyes at her before shaking her head with mild amusement.

“Eh… you have a point...” She replied dryly.

“Damn right I do! I’ve known you since we were kids, Peri! I can read you like a book.” Peridot was tugged unceremoniously into a headlock by her rowdy friend, her hair falling into further disarray.

The small smile slowly dropped from Lapis’ face as she watched them interact; the two of them were definitely close, both knowing each other well enough to be comfortable being physically close with one another. She felt a burbling in her gut and tried to shake it off, not wanting to make things weird. 

“Anyway!” Peridot grunted as she finally freed herself from her friend’s grasp, adjusting her glasses that had been knocked askew and smiling up at Lapis, “are you going to be joining us for lunch? I know there’s not much space on the blanket for three, but I’m sure we can make it work.”

“Actually...” Lapis chewed her lip, “I’m not really feeling that great, I was hoping to eat but my stomach feels kinda off.” That wasn’t  _ technically _ a lie, but she’d lost her appetite because of the current situation instead of some stomach bug. As Peridot’s cheery expression shifted and her shoulders slumped sadly, the tanned woman felt a rising sense of guilt but pressed on. “But- here, I came over to return this.” Pulling the all too familiar green bottle out of her bag, she tried to hand it over, but Peridot held up a hand as soon as she recognised the item.

“Do you have another one with you?” She asked, one eyebrow raised. Lapis blinked and shook her head, confused.

“Well no, but-”

“Lapis, if you’re feeling unwell you need to keep hydrated! Keep hold of that and go top it up at a water fountain or something. You can give it back to me another time, okay?” The gardener stared at her for a moment in surprise before sheepishly nodding.

“Okay, uh.. Thanks.” She mumbled, stuffing the object away once more. “I should probably go top this up then, I guess? Thank you, again.” 

She felt guilt welling up in her when she finally turned to leave, Peridot’s cheery well-wishes echoing through her mind. Why did she do that? Neither Peridot nor Amethyst had done anything wrong, and yet, she’d felt nothing but discomfort. In the back of her mind she was sure it was jealousy, but admitting that was embarrassing. Of course Peridot had other friends, why wouldn’t she? She was incredibly friendly and charismatic, not to mention caring for those who she befriended; so why did she feel this way? 

Frustrated with herself, she reluctantly made her way back to the staff shed; guess she was eating alone after all.

From that point on, things began to slowly change. She’d intended to see Peridot the next day, to make up for lost time and make sure she hadn’t messed up with that awkward interaction; but Peridot wasn’t there. She’d been understandably confused, wondering where on earth her friend had disappeared to, only to have the blonde show up the next day apologizing frantically, saying she’d been required to do some studying that required her to be working directly on the computers in the lab. Lapis was relieved her companion hadn’t just up and left her, but was saddened when she was informed that from now on, Peridot was required to spend more and more of her study time in the computer lab instead of out in the gardens. Peridot was clearly none too happy either, but she said it was the only way to truly prepare for her exams, which Lapis reluctantly agreed with. She wanted Peridot to do well at the end of the day.

Her friend promised her that she'd be back every now and again to see her, saying she didn't think things were going to become too overwhelming, but slowly her visits became steadily more infrequent until it was barely twice a week, and those were usually only brief visits for a quick catch up before she disappeared indoors once more. It wasn’t until several weeks in that it suddenly registered with Lapis was was going on; Amethyst had said Peridot was studying for finals, which meant that once she had finished her studies, she would be graduating. And Lapis might never see her again.

The thought alone made her heart drop to her stomach; regardless of her feelings coming out or not, she had developed such a close friendship with the small nerd and she refused to let that go. They barely had any time to talk in depth about things anymore, so she decided her best bet was to empty out that green water bottle, scribble down her mobile number on a strip of paper and stuff it inside. She could, in hindsight, have simply written it down and handed it to her directly, but for some reason she was too shy to do so. The next time the two of them talked, she made sure to shove the object into Peridot’s hands before she left. The blonde had protested, stating that she might as well keep it at this point, but Lapis insisted. 

That night, Lapis watched her phone like a hawk, waiting to receive a notification, but to no avail. That was fine, she reasoned, Peridot was pretty busy; but she heard nothing the following day either. Or the next day, or the next. Peridot didn’t come by at all that week, either.

Dejected, Lapis returned to her work, cursing herself for not being more direct. Peridot had probably lost the little slip of paper, or just washed the bottle up and not even seen it. Why had she been such a flustered teenager about this? 

Her continued internal conflict made her throw herself into her work more to compensate over the following days. As a result, she barely even registered time passing; maybe if she kept working, time would pass by quicker and all this would be sorted. Or maybe she could move on. Who knows? The next Friday, she decided to stay late; it was extra money anyway. Standing back from her work and brushing off the dirt on her knees, she folded her arms and looked over her handiwork with a critical eye. Maybe if she asked Greg she’d get permission to add a couple of plants to the border, it was looking a little sparse in one patch-

“Lapis!”

She physically jerked at the sound of her name, but still wasn’t prepared for the sensation of a figure barrelling into her. She let out a yelp.

“Hey! Watch where you’re- Peridot??”

The blonde hopped back away from her, a broad smile on her face.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you, I just haven’t seen you in so long.” She gave an embarrassed chuckle. Lapis, still adjusting to surprise at the intrusion, shook her head and snorted softly. It was definitely out of character for Peridot to tackle her like that, but then again the longer she looked at her the more frazzled the blonde appeared. Her hair was in a state of disarray, sticking up at odd angles and didn’t appear to have been cut at all; she was also sporting a pair of hefty shadows under her eyes, complete with bags.

She looked exhausted from the outset, but the sparkle in her eyes gave the indication that she hadn’t let her tiredness get the best of her.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t come see you sooner!” The shorter woman continued, taking Lapis’ relaxed stance as a signal to keep speaking, “everything got so chaotic I barely had a moment to step back and take a breather, much less come all the way down here… as much as I’d have liked to...” She sighed, “I noticed your note by the way, apologies that I never sent you a text; by the time I pulled the paper out, some water must’ve gotten to it and made the ink bleed, so I was only able to decipher the first three digits.” She smiled apologetically.

Lapis relaxed, feeling relief that her attempt at contacting her hadn’t been ignored like she’d thought. Still, that could have been avoided if she’d spoken to Peridot directly- but that was in the past now. No use dwelling on such an error.

“No worries, I figured something had happened; you’ve been super busy and all, so it makes sense you were gone for so long...” she shuffled her feet, “still missed you, though.” 

“And I you!” Peridot exclaimed, clasping her hands together, “but now you no longer have to worry about my absences, for my exams are done!” She bounced in place and grinned widely. 

“Wait, really?” Lapis stared at her in surprise, “already? Ok, wow; did everything go okay?”

“I’d like to think so! Well- I don’t  _ know  _ specifically because I won’t get the results for ages, but I studied hard and performed to the best of my ability so I’d be inclined to believe I passed. Don’t want to jinx it though.” She threw Lapis a playful wink, making the tanned woman chuckle softly.

“That’s fair, but good! I’m glad. You always seemed so focused and dedicated to your work, so I’m sure you’ll do well.”

“Aw, jeez, you’re too kind, Lapis!” Peridot flushed a little and rubbed the back of her neck, “Thank you; but that’s not the only reason I’m here. I’ve been planning a little something, a get together if you will, to celebrate the end of exams. Nothing too big, just me, my roommates and a friend or two...” She gave Lapis a shy smile, “so I was wondering if you’d like to come?”

Lapis felt herself nodding before Peridot had even finished the question. Spending time with Peridot outside of their usual work and studying constraints? Absolutely! She wanted nothing more than to have some quality time with someone she considered her closest friend. 

“I’d love to,” she replied quickly, her cheeks tinting pink in embarrassment at her eagerness, “however- it would really depend on the day, My hours have been all over the place lately, unfortunately.”

“Oh, that’s no trouble! We can just figure out when you’re next free and plan it from there, no big deal!”

Peridot’s chipper response made Lapis’ heart squeeze; the fact she was willing to plan the entire thing around her availability was incredibly flattering.

“Peridot, you don’t have to do that-”

“I want to.” Peridot cut in, reaching out a hand and grasping Lapis’ firmly, “Lapis, I haven’t been able to spend any decent amount of time with you for over a month now; I’d promised we’d make plans to meet up properly before everything got so busy, and I intend to keep that promise. Besides, I’m pretty Amethyst won’t mind having the day switched around. That woman has more free time than she knows what to do with.” The blonde snorted, but Lapis tensed slightly in surprise. 

“...Amethyst is going to be there?”

“Yup! She’s the one who insisted I do something like this, though if you ask me, she’s got an ulterior motive; any time she’s been over at my dorms, she’d tried to shoot her shot at one of my roommates, but hasn’t been successful so far. She’s dedicated, I’ll give her that.”

“Huh.” Lapis quirked a brow; that wasn’t something she’d expected to come out of Peridot’s mouth.

“I know… she’s terrible,” the blonde gave a nasally chuckle and released Lapis’ hands from her own, “Honestly? I think she’d have tried hitting on you too if she’d been given the chance, you’re definitely in her wheelhouse type-wise.”

“I-”

“Don’t worry though! She won’t she could tell you were far from interested.” Peridot continued, noticing the surprise in her friend’s face. “She may be a flirt but she knows when she shouldn’t even try.”

“I see...” Lapis chewed her lip. “Did she ever, you know, try the same with you then? By any chance?”

“Me? Pfft, perish the thought! We grew up together; knew each other all the way back in Kindergarten! We’re more like siblings if anything and besides- I’m not her type, and she’s not mine!” Peridot snickered and shook her head. “Both of us have always said we prefer taller women, anyway.”

Lapis had barely a moment to register Peridot’s casual confession before her wrist was gently grasped and tugged on.

“Okay, I should really go, I have some tidying up to do; but before I head off I think we should exchange numbers properly this time, don’t you?” She tugged her phone out of her pocket and unlocked it before placing it in Lapis’ hand, the screen already open on her contacts list. “Just pop it in there and we’ll be all sorted!”

Lapis chuckled, trying not to become flustered once more at the sensation of Peridot’s hand on hers as she tapped in her number. After carefully handing her own phone over to the blonde, the pair of them finally had each other’s contact details. It was funny, Lapis mused, that it had taken them this long to even consider being in contact with each other outside of work. Perhaps she’d been worried about it being unprofessional to exchange personal information with a student of the University? No, that wasn’t it and she knew it; she’d just been too shy.

Before Peridot left she’d pulled Lapis into a quick hug, this time one the tanned woman was able to reciprocate. She could feel her heart thrumming in her chest as she gently wrapped her arms around her smaller friend; it was all she could do to not squeeze her tightly and keep that close contact, Peridot was just so huggable. She smelled good too…

Okay, that was a bit creepy, she had to admit.

Still giddy from the contact, she couldn’t stop the daft grin on her face as she waved Peridot goodbye; the woman had barely left her sight before her phone buzzed.

**_Peridot: Hello! It’s Peridot, just making sure I have the right number!_ **

Lapis giggled softly and shook her head. She was such a dork; a cute, adorable little dork.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chewing her bottom lip hesitantly, Lapis made her way down the path, locking her car behind her as she looked up at the imposing structure of Peridot’s dorm rooms. It had taken them awhile and a lot of back and forth, but they’d finally found a day suitable for all; Sundays were always a day off, and this coming Monday was scheduled to be a half day, so she’d not have to worry about staying up too late. Not that that bothered her, she was used to having an incredible messy sleep schedule. What she wasn’t used to however was parties in the dorms of a high-class University. Glancing down, she grimaced a little, hoping her cropped blue tank top, leather jacket and distressed jeans would meet the standards.

The woman at the check-in desk had been hesitant at first, but changed her tune when Peridot’s name was mentioned and went ahead with calling up to her room. Lapis had been surprised, but then she remembered Amethyst had supposedly been a regular visitor to Peridot’s dorm room, so she wasn’t as an unusual sight as she suspected.

Her confusion continued, however, when it wasn’t Peridot that came down to reception, but a tall willowy woman with peach coloured hair. She looked Lapis up and down briefly before speaking.

“You must be Lapis, I’m Pearl, Peridot’s roommate,” when Lapis nodded awkwardly she continued, “excellent. I apologize, you weren’t expecting me that much I’m sure, but Peridot was otherwise engaged so I offered to come and collect you on her behalf. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, not at all,” Lapis said, falling in step beside the woman as she turned and headed back up the staircase, “I appreciate it, thank you.”

“Not a problem.”

There was a long spate of awkward silence, Lapis unsure as to what to say, and it seemed Pearl wasn’t clued in either, but the pale woman eventually broke it as they reached the correct floor.

“So, Peridot tells me you work in the gardens here?” Lapis nodded,

“Oh, yes. I’m on a placement.” 

“I see, what’s it like? Working there? I’d presume it can be stressful.”

“I suppose it can be stressful at times, but I don’t mind it,” Lapis shrugged, “it could be a lot worse, and I know I have my boss Greg for the chill atmosphere.”

“Ah. Yes. Greg.” Pearl’s body language shifted, “He’s… definitely laid-back, I suppose. Anyway, here we are.” She slotted in her keycard and opened the door, holding it open for a still perplexed Lapis. “Peridot!” She called out, “your friend is here!” Lapis glanced about her as she took off her shoes and placed them by the front door. It was… spacious, she’d give it that; most dorms she knew off were barely a pair of beds and a desk, this place felt like an entire apartment complete with what looked like a small kitchen and living room. Prestigious indeed. Her cursory look about the living quarters was cut short when the sound of fumbling footsteps met her ears, followed by the sight of Peridot appearing from around a corner.

“Lapis! Good to see you!” She hurried up to her, stopping a moment and staring as she appeared to take in her friend’s outfit. Lapis would have loved to enjoy the way Peridot’s jaw dropped and cheeks coloured as she looked at her, but she herself was too distracted by what Peridot was wearing. If she’d thought Peridot dressed like a nerd before, this was something else.

The buttercup yellow button-down, tucked neatly into a pair of freshly ironed pants was something else, and the little red bowtie that finished it all off just made her want to squeal. Peridot just looked so adorable and neat and tidy… stars, she wanted to scoop her up and squeeze the living daylights out of her.

“Lapis you uh.. You look good.” Peridot softly said, the tanned woman taking a minute to register what was being said before feeling her cheeks heat up.

“O-oh, thank you. You too, Peri.”

“You flatter me too much, Lazuli!” Peridot replied, shaking her head but thanking her all the same. Lapis wanted to continue, wanting to tell Peridot how goddamn adorable she looked, how her perfectly styled hair looked so soft and fluffy; but she restrained herself and instead shrugged off her jacket, hung it on a nearby hook and followed the smaller woman down the short hallway.

“Ayyy the gang’s all here!” Amethyst’s excited exclamation was startling to Lapis as she rounded the corner; the short woman was reclined on the small grey couch, phone in one hand and a bottle of something in the other. She gave Lapis a toothy grin and nodded at her, to which the gardener gave an awkward smile in response. Even though it had been a while since they’d last met, she found herself mentally cringing at her tense, awkward behaviour from before. Peridot chuckled and glanced up at her taller companion.

“Alright, are you thirsty? I should apologize and say we don’t actually have any alcohol, dormitory rules and such, but there are some cans and bottles of various fizzy drinks in the fridge, I can grab one for you if you’d like?”

“I don’t mind,” Lapis replied softly, “I don’t really drink much anyway, and besides, I’ll be driving home so it’ll probably be best for me not to be drinking, anyway. Anything caffeinated would be great. Thank you.” Peridot nodded and scampered out of the room, leaving Amethyst and Lapis alone.

“You can sit down, you know,” Amethyst said with a chuckle, breaking the brief silence, “I don’t bite.” Lapis gave a light snort before slowly taking a seat at the other end of the couch.

“Yeah, my bad, I’m just a bit awkward around new people sometimes, I guess.” 

“Heh, I gathered. You were pretty tense when we last met if I remember correctly.”

Lapis grimaced, “I’m sorry about that. That… wasn’t my finest moment.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Amethyst shrugged as she smiled over at her, “I get it, you wanted to spend time with Peridot and I’d interrupted your routine. Don’t blame you for feeling uneasy.” She took a sip of her drink, “You care about Peridot a lot, don’t you.”

Lapis gulped and shifted a little in her seat.

“I uh-” she could feel herself blushing and gave a nervous chuckle, “I do. She’s… really fun to be around.”

“Oh, I bet.” The tone in Amethyst’s voice made the taller woman glance over at her quizzically; which only prompted a further smirk from her companion before her expression softened. “She’s charmed you, I know that much. Just.. be careful, yeah? I know she can take care of herself, but I’m pretty protective of her too.”

Lapis stared at her blankly for a beat of silence, but before she could question further, the sound of Peridot’s approaching footsteps startled her.

“Here you go!” The blonde said cheerfully as she handed Lapis her drink and settled in the spot between the two of them, a drink of her own clasped in her hand. Lapis tried her best to ignore the goosebumps that spread across her arm when Peridot brushed up against her as she sat, but the sensation of heat spreading across her cheeks indicated her efforts had been in vain. She saw Amethyst grinning at her and quickly looked down at her drink. This was going to be a long night.

Initially, Lapis kept quiet, listening to the other two engaging in rather energetic conversations. Apparently Amethyst had initially been planning to take the group out to a nearby club, but Peridot had quickly shut that down, stating that as fun as that sounded, she didn’t enjoy overly loud spaces and didn’t handle her alcohol very well. Lapis had chuckled at that; even though she herself didn’t drink much either, the idea of a tipsy Peridot was amusing nonetheless. Maybe one day she’d invite her over to her own apartment for a couple of drinks.

The conversation soon turned to the night’s entertainment, which prompted Peridot to leap off the couch and hurry off into another room before returning with her Switch held aloft proudly. Of course Peridot had a Switch, Lapis mused. She wouldn’t have been surprised if the shorter woman had all the latest tech stashed away in her room. When it came to gaming, Lapis wasn’t much of an expert, but when the subject of Mario Kart was brought up she brightened significantly; a professional gamer she was not, but she’d spent a great deal of her teenage years whizzing around the many bizarre and wonderful tracks.

The first few rounds she was set to be in the lead, easily trouncing Amethyst and thoroughly surprising Peridot in the process, but when the new tracks came into play, she realized it had been a long time since she’d been behind the digital wheel. She didn’t mind losing to Peridot though, her cheerful whoops and cheers as she bolted across the finish line made her giggle. Smash was next, which she had no clue about. This time, Amethyst somehow managed to rope Pearl into a session or two; the slender woman seeming to let her guard down when it came to the openly flirtatious woman. It was funny. 

As the evening wore on Lapis found herself feeling a little twitchy. She was still getting used to being around new people, despite having Peridot by her side the whole time, and stress was slowly creeping up on her. When they finally finished their current match, she stretched and glanced over at the group.

“Mind if I go out for a bit? Need some fresh air.” She rummaged in her jean pocket and pulled out a small blue vape, which Peridot stared at wide-eyed.

“You smoke?” She asked, surprised. Lapis chuckled and shook her head.

“No, no, it’s a vape. Used to smoke but have been using this to wean myself off of them.”

“Huh..” Peridot eyed it for a moment before flicking her eyes back and forth between the other two in the room. “Mind if I come with you then? I could do with a break, all this staring at a screen is starting to hurt my eyes.”

Lapis chewed her lip thoughtfully, then gave a shy nod. As much as she preferred to spend her smoking time alone, she couldn’t say no to some quiet one-on-one time with Peridot. As the two of them got up to leave, Lapis caught the wink Amethyst threw her way and tried her best not to flush in embarrassment. That woman knew what was going on in her head. All she could hope was that she’d continue to keep it to herself.

Stepping out into the cool air, Lapis took a deep breath and sighed happily. As much as she enjoyed the warmth and convenience of an apartment, there was something to be said about the peace that came with the outdoors.

“I truly hope you don’t mind me tagging along like this.” Peridot said as she closed the door behind them, “I just got the feeling it was a good time to give those two some space,” When Lapis stared blankly at her she chuckled. “Remember when I said Amethyst had a bit of a thing for my roommate? I thought it was a passing, unrequited thing, but Pearl sees to be coming around to her. At least I think so… Amethyst always says I’m terrible at picking up signals. Didn’t think it was true until I found out this guy in my class had been trying to hit on me for the better part of a year and I never even noticed.” She laughed dryly. “I felt  _ so bad, _ especially when I had to turn him down… stars.” Glancing up at Lapis, she shrugged and ran a hand through her hair. “I still don’t know what he saw in me you know; what about me could he have possibly deemed attractive?”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Peri,” Lapis said before taking a long drag of her vape, “some people dig the nerdy look you know.” She turned her head slightly, hoping the shadows cast by the building would disguise the blush on her cheeks. Beside her, Peridot hummed thoughtfully.

“Well, if you ever meet such a person, I’d love to meet them.” She said with a snort as she leaned against the wall.

Lapis so desperately wanted to extend a hand and introduce herself in a smooth fashion, but she couldn’t, she wouldn’t. Peridot made her so shy and awkward it was embarrassing. So instead, she settled for taking another puff and directing her gaze anywhere but towards the short blonde beside her. It was then that a thought crossed her mind that made her eyes light up. She took one last drag of her vape before tucking it away in her coat pocket.

“How long do you think they’ll need alone?” 

“Uh...” Peridot stared at her, confused, “not sure… why?” 

Lapis felt a playful grin spread across her face.

“Well, you know I keep my work keys on me at all times, right?” She turned to her friend as she fiddled with the bunch in her pocket. Peridot’s eyes widened.

“Lapis, you can’t possibly be suggesting- you could get in so much trouble!”

“We’ll be careful! And besides, The boss told me he sneaks his son into the gardens after hours all the time, why shouldn’t I do something similar? It’s not like we’re going to be stealing anything, we can just go for a walk to pass the time.” She watched Peridot, giving her a pleading smile as the blonde furrowed her brow thoughtfully before sighing.

“Alright, but you’d better promise me you don’t do anything silly.”

“Relax Peri, I promise! Now come on.” She reached out and grasped her friend’s hand, internally squealing as she felt her small fingers interlocking with hers as she tugged her down a nearby path.

Entering the gardens was easy; there were several gates around the parameter and Lapis had keys to almost all of them, so finding the one that was the most hidden from the public eye was a synch. Peridot was still uneasy and glanced about them worriedly as they slipped inside, but Lapis assured her multiple times that they wouldn’t get caught. It was such a large stretch of land that it would be difficult for anyone to tell they were there, much less locate them. That settled her a little, but Lapis could tell her companion’s caution was still overtaking her curiosity.

So, she decided to give her a small tour; she knew Peridot had been here many times, but she doubted she’d had a member of staff to escort her throughout the establishment. Peridot slowly began to relax as time wore on, reverting back to her classic demeanor of asking Lapis a variety of questions about the plants surrounding them. This time, though, she spent the entire time hand it hand with Lapis; The tanned woman could feel her pulse accelerate every time her friend tugged on her hand.

“How long have we been out here?” Peridot said quietly as they slowly made their way down a small winding path covered by trees, “we’ve been walking so much my feet are starting to hurt.” Lapis looked over at her and chuckled.

“Come on, we can rest up there.” She gestured up ahead to the gazebo she’d spent so long painting all that time ago, “it’s much more stable than the last one, I can assure you.” Peridot snorted lightly.

“I’ll hold you to that.” She teased, playfully nudging Lapis’ side as they walked.

Reaching the tall wooden structure, Lapis was the first to sit down, briefly brushing off a few loose leaves before patting the spot beside her. As Peridot sat down she sighed happily, lifting her feet up and flexing her ankles as she did so.

“You know,” she said softly, leaning back, “when I first approached you all those months ago, I never foresaw anything like this.” 

“Tell me about it,” Lapis replied with a laugh, “I thought you were going to be another one of those snooty types who was going to tell me how to do my job, but boy was I wrong.” She gently ruffled Peridot’s hair and chuckled at the indignant noise her friend made. Peridot grumbled and adjusted her glasses.

“Yes, well. I suppose that’s the nature of humans, I suppose, forming connections in unlikely situations. Much like Amethyst and Pearl. I never thought they’d get along at all, but they’ve been talking a lot more lately; hell, I overheard them talking about possibly meeting up by themselves, outside of the apartment!” She chuckled and shifted in her seat. “I’m happy for them, you know? Relationships are hard, especially when it comes to forming it in the first place. Pearl seemed so clueless to Amethyst’s advances at first,” Her shoulders tensed a little, and she glanced back over at Lapis, a look on her face that the tanned woman couldn’t truly describe. “It’s always funny to me, you know. How someone can be so attracted to someone else and for the other person to not even register it. You’d think I’d have an understanding as I’ve been on that other side, but nope!” She snorted. “When you… see someone who's so unashamedly infatuated with someone, only for the other person to be oblivious. You want to laugh, but also want to go up to them and push them together, tell them they need to just  _ talk about it _ .”

Lapis stared at her, surprised by the sudden topic of discussion, but at the same time… it felt therapeutic. She’d seen it many times and experienced it many times too. It was ironic, she mused, that the woman who was the source of her own confusion was bringing up the situation she was unwittingly involved in.

“Tell me about it.” She said softly. “It gets even worse when the person with those feelings denies it and pushes it down, hoping it’ll go away.” Her eyes traced Peridot’s face as the blonde continued looking out of the gardens. “But you know they won’t. They’ll just get stronger and stronger.”

“Sounds like you’re talking from experience.”

“Heh.. you could say that.” Lapis fiddled with her fingers. There was something about this moment, about this atmosphere, that was bringing out all her feelings. Maybe it was because she was speaking as if it was a hypothetical or past scenario, or maybe, just maybe, it was because she was finally feeling that she was ready to drop those walls and be honest after all this time. “It’s not fun, denying feelings.” She continued shyly, “You think you’re doing the right thing, that keeping those feelings to yourself will stop any risk of them breaking apart a friendship. Things fade away and you think you’ve gotten over it and can finally move on with your life, and then they do that one little thing, that smile, that laugh, that gentle touch that makes everything come rushing back to you… That makes you realize she’s the best thing that’s happened to you in a long, long time.”

The silence that followed made Lapis’ stomach twist. She’d gotten caught up in her feelings, overwhelmed by the sensation of being able to be open and honest. 

“... Seems like this is someone specific.” Came Peridot’s reply. Her tone was quiet, hesitant. “Have you uh... Talked to her?”

“God no.” Lapis laughed nervously. “Not about all this, I mean. I wouldn’t know where to even start, or if I should say anything at all, anyway. She deserves the best.” She swallowed. Why was she still talking? She should stop, this was going to get too specific-

“You never know. Feelings work in weird ways.” Peridot continued as she continued looking out, away from her companion. “Would it help to maybe… talk about it? About her?”

In a normal situation, Lapis would have stopped the conversation then and there. Her gut was screaming at her to keep her mouth shut, but she couldn’t help it.

“I don’t know,” she confessed, “I want to- stars, I want to, but I don’t even know where to start. She’s the cutest thing in existence, for one thing; her smile is just… so sweet and kind, she has these adorable freckles and small button nose-” She clamped her mouth shut. Nope. Nope. Bad Lapis. That was getting dangerously close to being specific enough for Peridot to realize what was going on. “-but anyway. I um… even if I talked about her for hours, I don’t think it’d help. I don’t even know if she feels the same way, and even if she did- what would I do with that? I know I act all smooth and chill, but my brain is just a mess around her. It takes all of my energy to keep calm and relaxed when she’s near me…”

She could feel her face burning and prayed that Peridot couldn’t see her expression; this was so unbelievably stupid, she should have kept her mouth shut. Peridot was undoubtedly feeling uncomfortable. Her body was tense and her gaze still avoiding hers like nothing else; they just needed to get past this topic, and fast. She opened her mouth to speak, but Peridot’s small hand, having somehow snuck across the bench, rested on hers and gently squeezed.

“You know...” The blonde’s voice wavered a little, “these sorts of things, they involve a certain amount of risk. Sometimes you’ve just got to say how you feel because, well.” She coughed. “There might be a slight, possible, real chance she felt the same way, and hadn’t got the courage to say anything because she was sure you were out of her league and wouldn’t be interested in someone like her. A-and might still be having trouble comprehending the situation because she never thought in a million years that she’d hear you say something like that about her.”

Lapis’ heart skipped a beat.

Peridot wasn’t looking at her, her face still turned away, but she could see the telltale bright red of a blush spreading up to her ears. Her hand, still holding Lapis’, was shaking slightly and the sound of her staggered breathing cut through the silence.

This… wasn’t happening. Was it? No, it couldn’t be, Peridot wouldn’t- Her doubts left her the minute Peridot turned, the nerves written all over her face. The tanned woman took in a shaky breath.

“I-” The blonde hesitated, “that is, if you’re actually talking about her, and she hasn’t just made a big assumption that was going to make things super awkward-”

Lapis mentally clocked out at that moment. Oh stars, this was real. What should she do? She hadn’t been prepared for this, her mind was whirring; breaking out of her daze, she realized Peridot’s worry was turning to panic. The poor woman was babbling on as her cherry red face turned an even deeper shade. Without thinking, Lapis firmly grabbed her hand and tugged her closer, removing any space between them before she placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Peridot,” she said gently, trying to keep her tone even, “you’re not making this awkward, I-” She gulped, “I-I’m sorry, I just… didn’t think this would happen.”

All the worry left Peridot’s face almost immediately. She slumped against the other woman, letting out a whimper of relief, hand still holding onto Lapis’ for dear life.

“Oh thank the stars,” she said, her voice muffled in the fabric of Lapis’ jacket, “I thought I’d just made a huge mistake. I-” She shyly lifted her head and gave the tanned woman a look so endearing that made her stomach flip, “-This is just- wow.”

Lapis resisted the urge to laugh. 'Wow' was an understatement. What had just happened? What was going on? And most importantly:  _ why was she not freaking out right now?? _ They'd basically confessed to each other. Why wasn't she losing her mind?? What was this?? She was sure her own face was as red as Peridot’s at this point, if not more so. She swallowed as she kept shy, nervous eye contact with the woman who'd she'd been crushing on for months.

“You-” Peridot took a deep breath, “you really think I'm cute…?” Lapis wanted to squeal. This woman had  _ no right _ to be as sweet as she was being right now. It wasn't fair! 

“Absolutely…” came her soft reply, her hand slowly slipping up her shoulder and adjusting her collar. “And this thing?” She said as she gently tugged on the little red bow tie, “is fucking adorable. It looks so good on you.” She looked up from her fiddling to see Peridot was eyeing her with a shy smile, her eyes flicking up and down as she bit on her lower lip. She didn’t clock it until the blonde shuffled a little closer, her eyes now settling on the other woman’s lips.

“Really?” She whispered tentatively. Lapis gulped. Everything Peridot was doing was making her mind spin; it was driving her crazy, and she didn’t know if she could resist much longer.

Slowly, tentatively, she slipped her index finger underneath that bow tie, curling it back and hooking tightly behind it. With her breathing shallow and her heart pounding, she gradually tugged Peridot closer. The woman moved willingly, the two getting closer together until Lapis, giving one more tentative look into Peridot’s eyes, leaned in and gently pressed their lips together.

She’d always written off the descriptions of kisses in movies, how the world was supposed to stop, there were metaphorical fireworks and all that existed in that moment were the two people engaging in such an intimate moment; but right now, kissing Peridot, she mentally apologized for all her previous doubts. She could feel her heart thrumming in her chest as their lips moved over one another’s, her mind marveling at how soft Peridot’s lips were, how sweet she smelled, how adorable her little whimper was when she wrapped her small arms around Lapis’ neck to deepen the kiss. Right then, Lapis knew she was done for; she was head over heels for this woman and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She wouldn’t want to stop it.

Unfortunately, though, she needed to breathe. She pulled back a little way, her forehead resting on Peridot’s as the pair of them panted. Neither of them knew what to say; where did they go from here? Lapis wanted to say something, anything, but the look Peridot was giving her made her whimper and bury her head into the crook of her neck, blushing furiously as Peridot giggled.

“Lapis, honestly.” She sighed softly and stroked the other woman’s blue locks, “you’re such a dork.”

Lapis let out a muffled grumble from her hiding place. She wanted to protest, but at that moment it was hard to deny, especially since she’d been the one to take charge only moments ago. Peridot was to blame, she made Lapis malfunction in the best way.

“Lapis...” Peridot repeated, her voice shaking a little from what the other woman could only presume the adrenaline that she too was dealing with, “you can’t hide, it’s not fair.” Lapis groaned but shyly removed herself from her position, her face still an attractive shade of red. Matters weren’t helped when, upon laying eyes on her again, Peridot let out a wistful sigh and tilted her head. “Stars, Lapis. You’re just… gorgeous.”

“Stoooop.” Lapis whined, turning away and trying to cover her face in embarrassment; Peridot only chuckled and took her hand in hers. This was… quite the role reversal. Where had this confident Peridot come from? She’d been a bumbling, flustered mess only moments ago, and now she was taking the lead. What?

Then again… Lapis wasn’t complaining, especially when Peridot’s hand found her cheek and guided her back into another mind-blowing kiss.

They stayed there, just kissing, touching, and whispering affectionate words to one another. It started getting colder and Lapis insisted Peridot take her jacket, but the blonde refused, the insistence of the taller woman causing her to giggle and protest, saying she was fine. Lapis didn’t listen, and before she knew it, the pair of them were running about, her chasing the short blonde with her jacket in one hand demanding she take it from her; they weren’t sure who lost their footing first, but both of them ended up tumbling over one another onto the border, laughing loudly before Peridot showered Lapis in soft kisses as they lay there in the dirt, panting, and deliriously happy.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following day, Lapis almost skipped along as she twirled her keys around her finger. Sure, she’d ended up having to rush back home to grab her uniform after refusing to leave Peridot’s side the night before, and sure she’d hardly slept, but she was so damn happy that nothing could sour her mood.

**_‘Hey, Lapis? Would you mind popping down to the Front Lawn? Over?’_ **

She grasped the radio as she cheerfully strolled along.

“Sure Greg, what’s the problem? Over.”

**_‘Well, we’ve got a bit of a weird situation. Seems the hydrangeas were damaged some point during the night, I think? It’s hard to tell, and I have no clue how it happened. Anyway, if you could go over and assess the damage that’d be great, over.’_ **

Lapis had to physically stop herself from laughing; had she and Peridot really caused that much chaos? Biting her lip, she spoke again.

“No worries Greg, I’ll be right there, over.”

She grinned to herself as she shoved her keys into her pocket; her gardening bag firmly clasped in her other hand as she hummed happily to herself. She couldn’t believe what had happened.  _ Her and Peridot _ . She was still struggling to process it, but regardless, she was incredibly happy. 

Empire City Gardens was just full of surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done! Lapidot week is over! I hope you all enjoyed it, feel free to leave any feedback/kudos if you so wish. I am now going to return to my cave and disappear from the writing world for a while. Goodbye!

**Author's Note:**

> This one ended up much more detailed than expected, so I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know what you think.
> 
> Tomorrow's prompt: Gardening!


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